She's a Rebel
by Jewelgirl04
Summary: Jessica McMahon is the youngest daughter of Vince and Linda McMahon, but what happens when the problem child blossoms into a brilliant young woman and enters the WWE? More importantly, what happens when her childhood best friend happens to be John Cena?
1. Chapter 1

_Hi all! Okay, so I hate prefacing a story, but this is kind of necessary. Yes, this story involves the history of John Cena, but another main character is Jessica McMahon, the third child of Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon. Indulge me here, it's my creative license. Her history is made up, as well._

_The most important thing here is that I'm going to try and stay true to the storylines as much as possible. Yeah, she's going to have interaction with WWE Superstars, but please take it with a grain of salt._

_I appreciate reviews and criticism, so please read and review. If you do or don't, I'll continue to write, it's just that… well, the feedback monster gets so hungry sometimes…_

_ Danielle _

* * *

**December 22, 1985**

A flurry of snow had drifted upon the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, as Vince McMahon buckled his seven-year-old daughter into the backseat of his black Volvo. The clock was ticking towards 4AM and his youngest child, Jessica, was sleeping soundlessly in her carseat.

It amazed Vince that a child so peaceful could cause such havoc in a classroom. The Jessica McMahon he knew was a smart, fun-loving, and witty child, meant for more than being caged inside a small room and taught to sit and remain quiet. Her eagerness to learn and bouncy nature was what set her apart from her siblings and both Linda and Vince loved that about her.

After the meeting with her teacher the previous afternoon, Vince decided to take her out of school a day early, as her winter break was scheduled to start at the end of school that day. At this point, they weren't even sure that they'd continue sending her to the private school, let alone to any school in particular.

He regretted having to leave so early, but he had originally planned to make the trip to Massachusetts by himself and scheduled a meeting with his contact at 9am. Factoring in traffic, Vince decided it was better to be early than late, even if he was looking into prospective employees.

As the digital clock on the dashboard registered 7am, he heard a stir in the backseat of the car.

"Good morning, Daddy," the little girl smiled at him, rubbing her hazel eyes with her small fingers.

"Morning, Princess. Sleep well?" Vince glanced at her briefly in the mirror and smiled.

"Mhmm…" she nodded, wiping stray strands of blonde hair out of her face. "Are we there yet?"

Vince chuckled to himself, "No, sweetheart. It's going to be another hour or so until we get to Grandma's house. You can ask me at 8:30 if we're they're yet, okay?" he added, trying to cut off her potential rapid fire questioning.

"Okay, Daddy," Jessica agreed. "I'm hungry."

"You know, Jess, sometimes I swear you have a bottomless pit for a stomach," Vince chuckled. "There's a bag of cereal next to your seat. Can you reach it?"

"Yep," she nodded, grabbing a hold of the bag and opening it. "You're so silly. How can I have a pit in my stomach… I don't even like fruit?!?"

"How can a girl so good be such trouble in school?" Vince shook his head. "Jessica, why aren't you good in school?"

"I try, Daddy. I really do! I just don't like Mrs. M!"

"Why not, Princess?"

"Because, she doesn't let me answer questions! I know what she's going to write on the board, but she won't let me talk. If I sit and raise my hand and be quiet, she still won't call on me. I just want to answer her and show her I'm smart, but she won't let me!" the little girl cried in exasperation.

That was just it… Jessica was too smart for the teacher and her teacher didn't know how to deal with it.

"You know something, Jessie? We're going to find you a new school… where you can answer the questions, okay?" Vince offered.

"Okay, Daddy… are we there yet?"

* * *

Vince drove up the gravel driveway into the familiar shadow of the yellow house with forest green shutters. It had been over a year since his father had died, but his stepmother had kept the house exactly the same. Diana McMahon had been just as loving towards him as his own father and he loved her just the same.

Just as the thought of her crossed his mind, draped in a long overcoat and winter boots, Diana braved the snowy walkway and made her way towards the car.

"Come inside quickly, it's cold," she urged her stepson.

He nodded and pulled their overnight bags from the trunk, as Diana hustled her granddaughter inside the quaint house. Soon, he followed their lead.

"Off with your shoes!" she ordered. "There will be no tracks on my floors!"

"Right, sorry," he apologized, using one of his heels to slide off the opposite foot's boot, followed by the other. Jessica's shoes had already been removed.

"Grandma!" the little girl shrieked, wrapping her arms around Diana's legs.

"Jessie!" she smiled, encircling the little girl with her own, "I'm so glad to see you."

"Me too!"

After a brief laugh, Vince handed his daughter her bright pink bag, "Go and take this to your room, sweetheart. Put on your other clothes, okay?"

Jessica nodded and bounded up the stairs.

"Why did you bring her, Vince?" she eyed him suspiciously with her emerald orbs, "I know that you see potential in Jessica, but what would possess you to pull the child out of school a day early?"

"She keeps getting in trouble, Diana," he sighed, sliding himself onto one of the ivory chairs in the kitchen.

Diana followed him into the room, checking her cropped blonde hair in the mirror as she passed.

"She says that the teacher won't call on her," he continued, "But she knows the answer." Vince raked his fingers through his dark hair, now graying at the temples.

"Maybe she doesn't belong there, Vince," she offered with a shrug, joining him at the table. "Some kids just aren't fit for that private school mold."

"But she is brilliant, Diana! She can multiply and divide…"

"She's seven, Vince."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed. "There's only so many schools that she can attend back home… and I sure as hell am not sending my daughter back there, or my name isn't Vincent Kennedy McMahon!"

"Well, Vince," she sighed, "I will make you an offer. It's one your father and I discussed before he passed away, but I think he'd love nothing more than this… even now."

It was true… Diana longed for the family she had dreamed of as a young girl, but now she had only the family that she'd married into.

"I want Jessica to come and live with me… go to school and finish out the year here," she finished. "We'll see how she likes it here. Worst comes to worst, we've wasted our time, but…" she warned her stepson, "It's no different than he school now."

"I'll think about it, Diana, thank you."

What else could he possibly say? She was asking him to leave his daughter here for the remainder of the year, possibly for her childhood if she liked it there… _if she likes it here_. Might it be worth it if Jessica had an easier childhood?

"You're welcome, Vince…" she nodded. "I hear you have a business meeting with my neighbor, though?"

Vince couldn't help but chuckle, "How'd you find out?"

"Please," Diana fanned a hand at him, "This is West Newbury… how many people _do_ you think live here?"

"Point well taken. What's he like? We've only spoken over the phone."

"John Cena, Sr.? Very nice man, very nice family. He's a character, but he has a kind heart. His wife is sweet too, but those sons of his… my, they have their hands full!" she mused.

"How many?" he asked curiously.

"Five, ages 10 to 9 months old."

"My God," Vince shook his head.

"There's an eight year old in the mix, John Jr," Diana added. " She might like him. He reminds me a little bit of her."

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me, I have to call Mr. Cena and tell him that we've arrived," he remembered.

"He's speed dial one," she replied nonchalantly, pointing to the phone, and then heading for her granddaughter's room upstairs.

Along the walls of the hallway hung photos of the family. The first picture frame was of Shane, Stephanie, and Jessica. The second was one of Vince and Linda, but the last one was of Diana and her late husband.

Diana allowed her finger to trace along her husband's body. The photo had been taken at Stephanie's fifth birthday party.

There they were… Mr. and Mrs. Vincent James McMahon, happy and healthy.

After one year of marriage, they made the decision to settle down in West Newbury, where Diana had spent her summers as a child. It was the perfect chance for them: quiet, cozy, and quaint. Yes, the town wasn't the richest and while they had plenty of money, it was the fact that the town was rich in family and community values that drew them in. Sure, living in Connecticut might have been easier after the birth of their grandchildren, over twenty years later, but they loved it too much to leave.

But that was before Vincent's illness, his cancer, and his death. It was time when neither he nor Diana had to acknowledge their mortality.

"Diana…" a voice startled her from her thoughts.

It was Vince… her stepson.

"Yes?"

"I spoke to John. He wants me to bring the baby over," Vince called back.

_The baby?_ She thought. _Right, Jessica. Seven years old and she's still the baby._

"It's still snowing, so please be careful!" Diana answered, entering Jessica's room. "Jessie, Daddy's taking you next door to talk to my neighbors. Go downstairs and put on your boots."

"Okay, Grandma," the child smiled brightly.

* * *

About an hour after drinking her tea, Diana McMahon's gaze lingered out the window as a young boy passed, with an even younger girl chasing after him.

"Give it back!" she shrieked.

"No," he teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

"I want my mitten!" she whined.

"Well, you can't have it!" he continued to taunt her.

"Steve!" another boy yelled as the mitten disappeared from her adversary's hands. "Leave her alone."

"Oooh… Johnny has a girlfriend," Steve teased his younger brother as he walked back towards the house.

"Stupid," John shook his head and handed Jessica back her pink mitten. "Forget Steve, he's a butthead. What's your name?"

"Jessica," she answered shyly.

"I'm John. Is Mrs. McMahon your grandma?"

"Mhmm. My dad is talking to your dad about wrestling."

"Vince McMahon is your dad?"

"Yes, he is!" she smiled proudly.

"Then you like wrestling?" he asked, wide-eyed.

"I'm going to be a wrestler one day, both me and my big brother, Shane! We're gonna kick butt!" she stood up excitedly, but lost her footing and fell back into the snow. "Who's your favorite?" she asked, wiping the snow off of her legs.

"Hulkamania," he replied in his best Hogan voice, attempting to flex his non-existent muscles, "Brother…er…sister."

"You're funny," she squealed in delight. "He's my favorite too!"

"I have all of his action figures in my room," he added proudly. "Wanna see?!?"

"Sure!"

* * *

Well, that's the first chapter. I hope you like it. The next few chapters are going to follow Jessica's adolescence, as I don't want you to suddenly be thrown into a world where you're grasping for details that make no sense when put together. Trust me, her backstory will pay off!

Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

"Grandma, I'm heading for the bus…"

"Jessie, wait a minute!" Diana called from the living room, causing Jessica to stop dead in her tracks at the hunter green front door. "Please, one picture before you leave… for your parents."

She rolled her eyes at the door before turning to face her grandmother.

"You know, it would have been more convincing if you had said it was for my mother," she replied.

"Well, I expect you to be honest, Jessica," Diana answered, "And I'm sure you expect the same in return. If I had said your mother wanted it, do you really think it wouldn't have gotten back to your father?"

"See," Jessica shook her head in disappointment, "That's how I know that we're related. Blood or not, I know you are my grandmother."

No matter what anyone said, Diana had to give the girl credit. At fourteen years old, most normal girls had the entire household surrounding them on their first day of high school. Their moms would take them shopping for a perfect outfit for their first day and their fathers would come home from work that night and ask how the first day of school had gone.

But not Jessica McMahon. It was only Jessica and her grandmother on her special day, as it had been for the six seven years. More importantly, after testing for a grade level, Jessica had tested one year ahead. As if being a McMahon and being an heir to a wrestling dynasty wasn't enough, she had to enter high school at thirteen.

Yes, life here was good to her granddaughter, but Diana knew that deep down, Jessica wished her mother and father were here to see her off.

"God, you're so much like your grandfather sometimes," she laughed. "It's scary."

"The McMahon blood had to show up in my veins sooner or later," Jessica shrugged and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Grandma, take the picture before I change my mind."

Yep, she was a McMahon alright.

"Smile, Jessie," Diana urged and whipped out her camera. "On three. One. Two. Three."

The flash lit up and in moments, it was over.

"Can I go now?" she asked impatiently, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes, yes, go… is John there already?"

Jessica pulled open the front door and craned her neck out of the doorframe, "Yes," she answered simply.

"Alright. Have a good day at school, Jessie," Diana smiled warmly at her.

"Thanks, Grandma," Jessica smiled back at her, planting a kiss on her cheek, and making her way out the front door.

"Say hello to the boys for me!" she called after her granddaughter.

"I will!" Jessica replied, barely audible in the distance already.

* * *

Jessica trekked across the front lawn in her pink LA Gears as she made her way towards the corner bus stop. Approaching the street sign, she fixed the pockets of her flared blue jeans and pulled at the hem of her pink, off-the-shoulder sweater. Peering up from her sneakers, she caught sight of John, dressed in navy parachute pants and a neon green shirt with rolled up sleeves to allow a decent view of his recently-developed muscles… well, what there was of them. 

John had spent the entire summer trying to bulk up and he had exceeded… somewhat. It'd probably take another year or so for him to obtain a good physique, but he'd always have the hyperactive personality of the scrawny, little John Jr.

"Look who decided to show up," a voice laughed, knocking her back into reality.

"Yeah," she rolled her hazel eyes. "So, Steve… pumped for summer school yet?"

"Shut up," he grumbled at her.

"Snappy comeback, Cena," Jessica laughed at her neighbor. "So, John… how are the guns doing?"

"They're doing well," he smiled at her, before kissing his biceps. "Thank you."

"Better than your hair?" Jessica joked, standing on her toes to run a hand over his fade, atop his 5'10" body.

"Hard to say, short stuff. I just look good all around," John nudged her as the bus stopped at the corner at the beginning of their street. "Alright, so call it now. This year's final grades… Steve?" he directed the first response to his brother.

"Failing or D's… John?"

"5 C's, 2 B's," he nodded to Steve. "Jess?" he turned his head toward the 5'2" blonde beside him.

"A's…" she nodded, biting her lip slightly as she stared at the ground. Looking up, she added, "Across the board."

"Are you serious?" John raised his eyebrows at her in question. "This isn't Page Elementary school, Jessica."

"I know that, Cena," she responded in annoyance. "You don't think I can do it, do you?"

"Jess…" he shook his head at his best friend. "I never said that."

"You didn't have to, John," she replied as the bus arrived before them.

"Jessica…"

"Just shut up and get on the bus."

* * *

"Jess," John turned his gaze away from the window to the friend on his right, "Are you mad at me?" 

"No," she sighed, still staring straight ahead. "I just can't believe you don't have faith in me."

"Oh, for Christ's sake," he turned his entire body towards her and propped a folded leg on the brown vinyl seat, "You think I don't have faith in you?"

"I don't know…"

"Yes you do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. What is wrong with you?"

"I'm going to do it, John. I'm going to prove him wrong," she replied, with gritted teeth and angry eyes.

John allowed the right corner of his mouth to twitch and curl upward, "So that's what this is about… he was wrong, Jessica. He's was wrong to leave you here, but I'm glad he did. If he didn't, you wouldn't be here and life would suck. And I'm not like him… I will never ditch you."

"Thanks," she nodded. "That's all I needed to hear."

"So what classes do we have together?" John asked, snatching her schedule from her hands and holding it beside his own.

Jessica peered over his shoulder in the auditorium chair and whispered, "Period 1, English. Period 3, Biology. Period 5, lunch. Period 6, gym. Period 8, US History."

"Not bad… 5 out of 8?"

"Not bad at all, Cena."

* * *

"Hello, class," a young man in his early 30's addressed the body of freshman in the small room brightly, sliding his glasses to the tip of his nose to eyes the students in the front row. "My name is Mr. Barnes and I will be your Freshman year English teacher. The first thing I'd like for you all to do is for everyone to turn over the paper on their desks." 

Both John and Jessica, who sat in-between John and another boy on her left, obliged to Mr. Barnes's request.

"On your desk is a survey. This year, we will be writing a lot of poetry. My theory is if you're all going to be baring your souls, we're all going to want to know what makes each other tick. What I'm asking you to do now is fill out the survey and I will call you in alphabetical order to come up and present a one minute speech on yourself. Be prepared to ask questions. Now, get to work."

"John…" Jessica leaned towards him in a hushed, but urgent voice. "It asks about my family."

"Jess, chill. You'll be a'ight," he whispered back.

"Oh, well… thank you, Mr. Bradford," Barnes nodded, removing the end of his glasses from his lips and sliding them back between his curly black hair and his ears to glance at the clipboard in front of him. "Next will be Mr… Cena?"

John pushed his chair back and walked to the front of the room.

"Yo, my name's John Cena. I like rap music and wrestling. I was born in Boston, but I've lived here all my life with my mom, dad, and four bros. I love the Sox, reverse the curse, and… oh yeah. My best friend, Jessica, is sitting right over there," he added, pointing to her desk, causing her to sink down a little in her chair. "I expect decent grades in here and hope to improve my rhyming skills for my raps," he concluded before taking a seat.

"Um… thank you, Mr. Cena. That was certainly… enlightening to say the least," Barnes stated and moved on to the next name. "Ms. Delacome?"

* * *

"Ms. McMahon?" 

Jessica nodded and took her place at the front of the room.

"My name is Jessica McMahon and I'm thirteen years old. I'm only here cause I skipped over 2nd grade after I moved here. I live with my grandmother, but my parents live in Connecticut with my older brother and sister. I love my guitar, wrestling, and my music is a huge part of my life. And yeah, my best friend is John Cena."

"You like wrestling, Ms. McMahon? Not typical of most girls your age…" Barnes began.

"I understand that, sir."

_Please don't ask about my parents,_ she pleaded silently. _Please…_

"McMahon… you wouldn't happen to be related to…"

_Damn. No such luck._

"Yes, Mr. Barnes," she sighed heavily and noticed John rub his hands over his face. "Vince McMahon is my father."

Barnes clearly saw Jessica shifting uncomfortably and quickly changed the subject, "Ah… and as for your grades?"

"I want to expand my writing style for songs and I expect to receive A+'s all year long."

The room was silent.

"You know, Ms. McMahon," he chuckled nervously, pulling his glasses off of his face to demonstrate his seriousness, "That's a rather tall order."

"Sometimes, Mr. Barnes," Jessica nodded confidently, "You just need to prove people wrong."

Barnes smiled knowingly, as if he understood what she was implying.

"I look forward to the challenge, Ms. McMahon. Please, take a seat."

* * *

**A/N: So, that would be chapter two. I decided to skip straight to high school and get to the good stuff. The story's going to skip around high school for the next chapter or so, but I promise, I'm building towards the future. **

**Please continue to read and review... and I'd like to send a shout out to S.A.R.'s most loyal reader so far, dj-ssdd, for being the only reviewer so far. Thank you, m'dear!**

**Danielle **


	3. Chapter 3

"Mr. Barnes?"

"Oh, Ms. McMahon," the teacher looked up from his black glasses and smiled. "Come in."

"Thank you," Jessica returned his grin and made her way towards his desk.

He handed her a manila folder with two pieces of white stationary peeking out.

"This is yours, I finished it last night," he assured her. "Proofread it three times, just to make sure it was perfect."

"Thanks, Mr. Barnes," she nodded. "I really appreciate this."

"In my eight years of teaching, Ms. McMahon, I've never had a student quite like you," he sighed, placing his pen down on his desk. "It's going to be a shame to lose you… and I'm going to miss your visits next year."

"All this time and you still refer to me as Ms. McMahon?" Jessica laughed half-heartedly at him. "I'll be back, Mr. Barnes," she tried to assure her former teacher. "I can't promise it will be as frequent as it is now, but I promise that I will try to come back once a month."

"Well, I hope my letter proves useful, Ms. McMahon," he smiled again, "But I have a feeling you'll be accepted without a single glance at my recommendation, especially those grades."

"The straight A+'s didn't hurt," Jessica laughed. "So thank you for those."

"I can't take credit for those…" Barnes shook his head at her. "You did that all on your own."

For a moment, Mr. Barnes looked at her sadly, acknowledging that she was no longer the same girl he'd first encountered at thirteen. She'd grown up and she'd moved on.

"Well," he cleared his throat. "I'm sure you have to get home and fill out the rest of your forms."

"Yeah," she looked down at her shoes, now a more tasteful white Nike sneaker, "I guess so. I'll see you around, Mr. Barnes."

"I hope so…" he replied as she moved towards the door. "Jessica."

Jessica turned her head towards her former teacher and smiled before passing out of the door and down the hall.

Jessica started the engine of her midnight black 1990 Pontiac Firebird and stared at the dashboard for a moment. When it seemed like there were no more tears left, she wiped at her eyes and fastened her seat belt before taking off out of the school parking lot.

Driving down the road, which she'd have to take all the way down before arriving at her street, she was contemplating her future and wondering how eleven years had flown by so fast?

* * *

"Grandma!" Jessica called as she shut the front door behind her and placed her keys on the table. 

"Hey, Jessie," her grandmother answered her from the kitchen. "I'm making some cookies for you to eat during Raw tonight, but if you want, you can preview them fresh out of the oven in ten minutes."

"Sounds good to me," she replied, entering the kitchen.

"Did you get your last letter?" Diana asked, picking her head up from the bowl in front of her.

"Yeah, from Mr. Barnes."

"Good. How many applications are you sending out?"

"15. Five safe schools, five reach schools, and five stretch schools," she explained.

"How many is John sending out?"

"Um… I don't think even he knows how many he's filled out already. I guess, anywhere that might take a football player with mediocre grades," Jessica shrugged, hopping up on the counter.

"Still no clue where you want to go, huh?" Diana smiled knowingly.

"Not at all. I mean, I want to stay near here, but I want to go to a school that I'm going to like for it's academics."

"What about Springfield… that's only 20 minutes away?"

"Grandma," Jessica arched an eyebrow, "That's a football school. That means there's 35 of John just on the football team."

"Speaking of John, what's he up to? I haven't seen him in a few days," Diana inquired, removing a pan from the black oven.

"Neither have I."

"What are you talking about, you've practically been attached at the hip since you were seven years old?" she asked, shutting the oven door.

"He's out with Liz," Jessica rolled her eyes, stressing his girlfriend's name and exhaling sharply.

"Ah, your favorite person?"

"Yeah. They're attached at the ass," she stated angrily.

"Jessica Juliette McMahon!" Diana gaped at her granddaughter. "Bite your tongue!"

"I'm sorry," she shook her head quickly. "I just feel like I'm losing my best friend, you know?"

"Look, Jess," her grandmother sighed, pulling up a chair and sitting down, "I know it feels as though you're no longer important to John, but you're wrong. And you can wish every single day that they break up, but they've been together for over a year now and it's not looking likely. If you want to stay a part of John's life, you've got to learn to live with her… she's not going anywhere, Jessica, and I know you don't want to lose him."

"Grandma, I've tried… I really have. I just- "Jessica shrugged and threw up her hands, "I just don't know what to do anymore. It just seems like whenever we're in the same room, she goes out of her way to be rude and obnoxious. You know I wouldn't lie to you…"

"I know, Jessie," Diana nodded. "You just have to trust John to not let one of the most important women in his life walk out of the picture."

"You know I hate letting things become intangible…"

"Yeah, I do. Unfortunately, Jessica… it's a part of life."

* * *

Jessica stared down at the neatly stacked piles of paper on her bed and sighed. All of these applications would take her forever to finish, but with her final recommendation letter now in hand, it was bound to get easier. 

Yeah, it might take her a long time to complete, but the earlier she finished, the better.

* * *

"John!" 

"Yeah, Mom?" the seventeen year old answered from his room.

"Dinner is ready!" she called back to him.

John pulled open the door of his bedroom. Once Steve headed off to college, John had taken over the room for himself. Every plaque, trophy, and medal he had ever won now adorned his white walls.

He bounded down the stairs in his black basketball shorts, white tank, and white sneakers.

"Son," John Senior laughed as the younger Cena took his place at the table with his brothers, the ten year old Sean, thirteen year old Matt, and fifteen year old Dan. "Slow down. You actually have to eat food before you can work it off at the gym."

"Yeah, well, I gotta meet Liz right after, so I want to get there ASAP," he answered, sitting down in the chair opposite Matt.

"Why can't you just workout afterwards?" Carol chimed in, before taking a forkful of salad into her mouth.

"She wants to see this movie that's showing at 10, but it only shows at 4pm and 10pm every day," John explained, digging his fork into the mashed potatoes bowl.

"Hey, barbarian," John's father interrupted him. "Use the serving spoon."

"Right, my bad."

"John," his mother interred, "Why can't you go tomorrow?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "She wanted to go tonight."

John Sr. shook his head, "But what did _you_ want to do tonight?"

"Whatever she wanted was fine with me. As long as I get to eat, sleep, and workout, I don't care."

"When you're in your thirties and married, with children, is that what you're going to say, John?" his father eyed him angrily, staring at his nonchalant attitude.

"Married with children?" John laughed and turned back to eating the potatoes on his plate. "Now that's a funny show."

John Senior slammed his hand down on the table causing the contents of the meal to shake on the table with a loud clanging noise, stunning his three youngest sons into silence.

"God dammit, John!" his father bellowed from the head of the table. "I am serious!"

"So am I, it's a good show," he replied curtly.

"Please, John," his mother put a hand on her son's muscular arm, "Don't patronize your father."

"You know what son?" Senior started, "Go to the gym. Go to Liz. Do what you want… I don't care anymore today."

"Sounds good to me," John replied, pushing his chair away from the table and grabbing his duffel bag. "I'll be home later. Peace."

* * *

"John Cena in the house!" he exclaimed, pushing his way into his teammate's house, which was once empty, but was now bursting at the seams with music, food, people, and alcohol, a combination John worshipped. 

A bunch of friends greeted him and Liz, the brunette girl beside him dressed in destroyed jeans and a pink tank top, as he made his way towards the kegs.

The phone rang and the house's owner, Jake, answered it. "Liz!" he called. "It's your sister… your parents are coming home a day early."

"So?" she placed her hands on her hips.

"_So_… Sarah says they'll be home in an hour,' Jake replied, somewhat annoyed.

"Fuckin' A," she panicked. "John?" she called her boyfriend, but spotted him with an empty beer bottle already beside him.

"Dammit, Cena. You're no use to me now," she cursed him silently under her breath. "John, I need to go home. My parents are coming home in an hour."

"Okay, babe," he smiled, downing another beer quickly. "Where are my keys?" he asked himself, as he dug around in his pockets before pulling them out. "Here we are!"

"John!" Liz yelled at him. "How many beers have you had?"

"Just three," he replied before taking another long chug of a freshly opened Coors Light. "Wait, make that three and a half."

"Christ, you can't drive now!" she responded, rubbing her temples.

"So?" he shrugged innocently, flipping her his key ring. "You drive, I'll crash here."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Alright," she smiled, kissing him gently. "Goodnight."

* * *

Jessica glanced at her clock as she startled awake. 

_4:35 am._

Her grandmother had gone to visit a dear friend in New York for the weekend and would certainly be asleep by now. Her father rarely called and when her mother did, it was either before school or after dinner. Stephanie was busy in her second year of college and Shane was off working at the WWF.

So who the hell was calling her this early in the morning?

"Hello?" she groggily answered the phone.

"Jess, it's Jake," the voice replied. "John came to my party tonight and he's trashed… puking up everywhere out back."

"Where's the missus?" she mused sarcastically.

"Her parents came home a day early," Jake answered seriously. "She had to jet."

"Can't somebody drive him in his car and then catch a lift back with a friend?"

"Liz just took it to drive herself home."

"Idiot," Jessica mumbled. "Don't you think they know what his car looks like by now?"

"All I know is that I can't have him puking up all over my house!"

"Okay, okay," she replied, flicking on the light on her nightstand. "Give me twenty minutes."

* * *

Jake looked at the door as a loud banging noise emanated from the other side. He took a quick look at his backyard and then walked to the door. He looked through the peephole, smiled, and opened the door. 

"Where is he?" the spunky, 5'4" blonde demanded, standing in the doorway in a pair of acid washed jeans and a black zip-up sweatshirt.

"Nice to see you too, McMahon."

"Oh, save it, Jake," she blew him off. "Where the hell is he?"

"In the backyard."

Jessica pushed past the school's star runningback and made her way to the back door. She opened the door and found two people in the backyard. One was Jake's older, college student sister, Lydia, who had clearly purchased all of the night's alcohol. The other was face down on the grass beside the pool.

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled and walked past Lydia towards the passed out young man. "John?" she asked tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

All that came from the body was a groan and some muttering.

"John?" Jessica repeated, shaking him slightly. "I need to get you home."

"No."

It was the first coherent word he had spoken thus far.

"Dad… fight. I… Liz. We…party. No…home."

"Let me get this straight. You got into a fight with your dad and you left to see Liz," she began slowly, "And then you both came to this party, but she had to leave. And now you don't want to go home?"

He nodded weakly, resting his head back down on the ground.

"Lydia," Jess called for Jake's sister. "Go get Jake. I can't carry his sorry ass inside all by myself."

A few minutes later, Lydia returned with her brother in tow.

"Where do you want him?"

"My car."

* * *

The next day, John awoke with a start. 

"Where the fuck am I?" he asked, sitting up and looking around to find that he was back in his room. He spotted two aspirin and a glass of water sitting on his nightstand and soon became fully aware of the hangover pounding on his brain.

He popped the two pulls in his mouth and chased it down with some water, then rose from his bed. He caught his reflection in the mirror. His black gym shorts had been replaced by a pair of red ones with a black stripe down each side and his white tank had been exchanged for a black one.

His prior question had now been replaced by his new one, "How the hell did I get here?"

John opened the door to his room and made his way down the stairs, only to find his mother sitting in the kitchen chair.

"It's about time you woke up," she stated simply as he tried to creep his way past the kitchen.

"You could hear that?" he asked incredulously, stopping in his tracks.

"John, I've always heard you, since you were a baby, but this time… I need you to hear me."

John took a seat in a chair opposite his mother at the table and nodded.

"Good," she returned his nod. "Now, I understand that your father got you angry last night, BUT that does not mean he was wrong. You have changed since you started dating her, but not for the good, John. You abandoned your friends and your family. I thought that your two years at Cushing might have taught you more than that, but apparently, we were wrong. Look," she sighed, regaining her composure. "I'm not going to tell your father about this, John, but do not be mistaken, this is NOT for you. HE and YOUR BROTHERS do not need this stress on their heads right now. However, there are conditions to this. One, no more parties until spring break. Two, you will be home every night for dinner… EVERY night. And three, no more ditching family events. If you want to hang out with Liz, you will bring her… understood?"

"Yeah," John agreed. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, John?"

"How'd I get home… and in these clothes?" he asked, looking down at his appearance and then back at Carol.

"While Liz took your keys and left, Jake called Jessica and she came to get you in the middle of the night. It was 7 am when she got you home and I think she made you take a shower and put on your boxers. As for the shorts and tank and aspirin and everything else… all her, John," she finished, pushing away from the kitchen table.

John could only remain there, staring at his hands.

Carol turned around in the doorway and looked at John, "And that is what you keep ditching."

* * *

**A/N: So I think I'm staying pretty true to everything I've read about John and his family.**

**Do you think I'm staying true to his character... and what you think he would have been like as a teen? **

**Let me know.**

**Danielle **


	4. Chapter 4

**_Music Suggestion: Losing My Mind by Maroon 5 (Play after the fourth line break)_**

_

* * *

_

Jessica sat on the couch and stared at the three plastic bowls on the coffee table, then glanced at the clock.

_8:55_

This was stupid… she was stupid. There was no way he was going to show up. It would be just like all of the other nights. She'd sit on the couch and keep checking the clock, from 9 pm all the way until 11pm, and he'd never show. She'd clean up, turn off the TV, and lie in bed for hours, staring at ceiling, wondering what she had done to push him away. Finally, she'd realize it wasn't her, but it was _her_, the girl who had caused her to gradually lose her best friend, only to ponder the next question the following week.

_8:56_

Jessica mindlessly reached for the remote to click on the TV, searching to find the channel she was looking for.

_8:57_

The timer on the microwave sounded and Jessica got up from the sofa and headed towards the kitchen. She grabbed a spatula from one of the drawers and began to remove the now-cool cookies from the sheet and place them on a plate.

_8:59_

She took the cookies with her into the family room and placed the plate down on the table. The WWF logo flashed onto the screen of the USA network.

_9:00_

Her father's voice boomed through the television set and welcomed everyone to another Monday Night Raw. Oddly enough, it was the only time she actually enjoyed hearing her father's voice at all. Every other time, she despised it, but even now, it was starting to get on her nerves once again.

_9:02_

Even something she loved more than any other aspect of her life was now starting to bother… all because of one girl, one stupid, selfish girl who had walked into West Newbury at just the right time.

_9:04_

Ted DiBlase was heading to the ring to announce that he had made contact with the Undertaker, who had gone M.I.A. since the Royal Rumble.

_9:08_

Paul Bearer stood atop the ramp, below the Titan Tron, and announced that not only had he made his own contact with the Undertaker, but that he had also stated that he had never once spoke to DiBlase.

_9:10_

DiBlase pulls a briefcase of money from underneath the ring, opens it, and places it in the center of the ring.

_9:11_

"The Undertaker" is lured out from under the ring to the briefcase.

_9:12_

Paul Bearer goes backstage and returns with his golden urn.

_9:13_

The lights go out and the Undertaker appears beside Bearer.

_9:14_

The two Undertakers stare each other down.

_9:15_

Raw goes to commercial.

"Sorry I'm late," a voice apologized. "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," she smiled at the young man, as she turned her head to look over the back of the teal couch.

"Fill me in," he urged her, sitting beside her on the right side.

Jessica sat on the arm of the couch, her feet touching the left cushion, "Well, DiBlase came down to the ring and claimed he had made contact with the Undertaker. Bearer walked out and said that he had made contact with the Undertaker, who said he'd never spoken to DiBlase. Then DiBlase brought out the Undertaker, but so did Bearer..." she trailed off excitedly. "It was pretty cool, man."

"I can't believe I missed that!" John gaped. "That's awesome. Two 'Takers?"

"Yeah!" Jessica nodded with a smirk.

"What the hell?"

"I know!"

Somehow, Jessica knew she'd sleep well that night.

* * *

"Can you believe that tonight's the last Raw we're going to be watching together?" John sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. 

"Come on, John," Jessica shook her head at him. "You say it like you're never going to see me again."

"I know that I am going to see you again, Jess," he admitted, "But it's not going to be like I can just walk across my lawn anymore. I can't just call you up and go, 'Hey, Jess. Movie at 5' and expect you to go. You're going off to college, Jessica."

"You're going off to college too, John," she reminded him.

"I know that, but it's not going to be easy anymore."

"Christ, John," Jessica wiped her hands over her face and sighed. "Don't make me feel any worse than I already do for leaving tomorrow."

"I'm sorry," he hung his head low. "This was supposed to be a night to remember, a last hurrah before we got separated for the year. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"I know, I know," she nodded in understanding, "It's hard for me too, but I've got a long morning ahead of me tomorrow, and I'm sure you have to pack for moving day on Wednesday, so what do you say we call it a night?"

"I don't want to call it a night, Jessica," John replied.

"I don't either, but it will make it easier," she smiled weakly. "And we both need sleep, Cena. We've got a big week ahead of us."

"Yeah, I guess we do," he nodded and headed for the door sadly.

Jessica opened the front door and looked dejectedly out into the night, "Seems a lot more frightening when you don't know what tomorrow's going to bring, huh?"

"I guess," John shrugged and stepped into the light of the front porch, "Come out here for a second."

She nodded and obliged his request as he pulled her into a hug, he held onto her tightly and kissed the top of her head, showing a sentimental side of him rarely seen.

"Thank you, Jessica Juliette McMahon," John said into her ear. "Thank you for making my life less boring."

Jessica nodded, choking back tears. It wasn't like she hadn't cried in front of John before, but it just wasn't often and she tried to avoid it at all costs.

"Jess?" John asked her, pulling his body away from hers slightly. "Are you crying?"

"No," she replied stubbornly.

"Yes, you are," he replied softly, reaching for her face and wiping at the tears with the pads of his thumbs. "Jesus, I didn't mean to make you cry."

"You would have made me cry whether you were here or not," Jessica admitted. "At least you're not crying."

"Yeah…" he smiled half-heartedly and stepped away from her. "I guess this is goodbye."

"No," she shook her head. "It's not, John. It's more of a see you later. Goodbye is too permanent."

That was the Jessica McMahon whom John Cena knew and loved.

"Alright then," he allowed the corner of his lips to curl upward, "See you later."

Jessica watched him retreat down the stairs of her porch and into the darkness of the warm, August night and couldn't tear her eyes away from her best friend. His leaving symbolized a new chapter of her life, but somehow, she couldn't see it as a new chapter, not even a new beginning or an end to another chapter.

Finally, she lost sight of John as she heard the crunching of his footsteps on his gravel driveway and the light taps of his sneakers on his own front steps. The last sound she heard was the creaking noise of the front door swinging open and slowly closing shut.

Following suit, she closed her own front door, and ran up to her own room, careful not to wake her sleeping grandmother.

Peering out the window, she saw John's light flicker on and turned back to her own room. For a few moments, she stared at the walls around her… a home which had sheltered her for ten years of her life and given her memories that seemed to burn away the seven years of other ones from what seemed to be a previous life.

Yes, that was a chapter of her life that had in fact closed the moment her father dropped her off at her grandmother's house.

Sitting down at her desk for one final time before she left, Jessica McMahon decided that this time, it wasn't ending another chapter and beginning another. In fact, it was like a story arc, continuing into a new place and a new town, but always with its roots somewhere else, always with her roots in West Newbury, Massachusetts.

* * *

John Cena laid alone in the darkness of his room for what seemed like hours, his nearly-packed suitcases dimly lit by the moonlight. 

Her own light had gone off hours ago and he figured that she'd finally decided to embrace tomorrow, but by no means did it mean that he had done the same. In fact, he'd spent the last three hours pondering what life would be like away from her.

For the first time, he realized that he hadn't even thought about his oft-seen girlfriend the entire day. All he could think about was the departing Jessica McMahon and how soon she was leaving and how soon she'd forget about him.

John knew that Jessica J. McMahon was a certifiable genius, but her position as Class President, Debate Team President, Guitar Club President, and Class of 1995 Valedictorian let the entire school know that, as well.

What would it be like every morning to wake up and not know who was in his neighbor's room? Or if his neighbor even cared about him?

Sometimes the former-middle school loner used to be propelled to roll himself out of bed in the morning just because he knew Jessica would be at the bus stop. Now whose existence would inspire him to pour himself into his clothes and into classes in the morning at college?

And while John knew he had told Jessica that he wasn't crying, and she knew he wasn't going to, it didn't mean that he wasn't hurting.

_Just because I didn't show it on the outside, Jess, doesn't mean I'm not on the inside. 'Cause right now, inside, I feel like a little piece of me is dying._

Because at that moment, John Cena was hurting more than Jessica McMahon could ever know.

* * *

The morning sunlight burned his eyes as he struggled to open them. No matter how tightly he shut his shades, it seemed as though the beams of light always managed to become a laser aimed right into his sapphire orbs. 

John struggled to leave his bed, but finally rose to his feet and headed for the bathroom. Gazing at his reflection, he chuckled morosely and shook his head.

God, he looked like hell. One look at him and anyone would know it. He brushed his teeth and then splashed some cold water onto his tanned skin, half-convinced it would wake him up from the nightmare he was living, half-certain it'd just make him numb to reality.

Both possibilities failed him and John got himself dressed before trudging down the stairs, his Nikes dragging along the hardwood. As he passed his family eating breakfast at the table for the door, no one said a word. They knew how badly he was hurting. In fact, they were all sad that Jessica was leaving, as she had become the sixth child in the household, but they knew their pain paled in comparison to John's.

As the front door clicked shut behind him, John Sr. looked up at his wife and nodded. They knew exactly where he was going.

* * *

Suddenly, the color of the petunias and impatients she had planted in front of the porch no longer seemed as vivid and the rose bushes nearby no longer stood as proud. 

John used his key to open the forest green front door and looked back at his car parked in front of the house. It hadn't been necessary to park there, but something about seeing his car out front tricked him into thinking that she was still home, for now anyway.

He entered the house and noticed she had completely cleaned the family room after he'd left yesterday, the bowls and snacks completely gone. The only traces of a lived-in house seemed to be the freshly washed kitchen floor and the dishes drying in the rack beside the sink.

But that wasn't what he had come for.

John made his way up the wooden stairs and onto the landing of the upper floor. He passed the bathroom on his right and began to stare at the pictures on the walls.

Before now, John had never really looked at them before. He had seen a few of them when he was much younger, but now, it seemed as though there had been a large amount of frames added. He passed the older ones as he passed the bathroom, but came to the end of the hallway and to Jessica's room. Right outside the room was a picture of John Sr., Carol, Diana, Jessica, John, Steve, Matt, Dan, and Sean on the left side. On the right side, hung a collage of pictures of her and John in a bunch of cutout squares and rectangles.

He eyed each picture carefully and smiled to himself. There were pictures of all of their graduations, Elementary school, middle school, and high school, the school play, Senior day, John's first day with his license, snowball wars, and fall leaf pile fights.

Finally, he opened the door to where he had really wanted to go all along.

John looked around and felt just as it looked: empty.

Sure, her bed was neatly made, her dressers and desk neatly organized, but there wasn't the lived-in clutter that made it Jessica McMahon's bedroom. Then again, even if she had left it the same, would it have made him feel anymore whole inside?

John sat on the edge of the bed he had sat on so many times before in his life and flung himself backwards.

He remembered the many times she'd try to help him cram for finals and John would fall asleep there within the first hour. Now he wished he had stayed up every single minute to be with her, reflecting on every single memory he could have made in their place.

The moment his head hit the pillow, he heard a crinkling noise behind him and shot up abruptly. Turning around, he found an envelope with his name on it.

He smiled for a brief moment; it was in Jessica's handwriting.

John sat up, his legs still hanging over the edge of her lavender bed, and opened the envelope.

_Dear John,_

_Sitting down to write this letter, I don't even know where to start. I figure I'll start from the first time we met. Do you remember it as clearly as I do? Steve had stolen my mitten, you got it back for me, and then we went inside and played with your Hulk Hogan action figures for hours. Sometimes I can imagine exactly what it was like, locking ourselves in your bedroom and locking Steve out for hours, completely ignoring both his yelling and incessant pounding on the door. Often, I even catch myself absentmindedly searching my body these days, looking for scars obtained from our days wrestling in your makeshift backyard ring. To this day, I've found three, but they don't remind me of pain, only the love I share with you, Steve, Dan, Matt, and Sean._

_My life's never been easy, but I've never once had to tell you that, nor felt the need to do so. I know life hasn't always treated you well either, John. I remember when you used to come home after an entire day of being teased in elementary or middle school, completely miserable. I also remember the day you decided to start lifting and what the look on your face was like the moment you walked into high school and saw all of our old classmates. You were taller, bigger, and stronger and they finally took notice, but more importantly, you began to take notice of yourself. I was so proud that day as you finally looked in the mirror and saw the person I had seen for the past six years. Granted, I don't think anyone could have ever predicted just how much of a meathead you'd turn into, but it's what makes you… well… you. _

_As for me, my father left me here at seven… hell, I wouldn't even know what his face looked like now if it weren't for Monday Night Raw, but the one saving grace I've always had is you and your family. Your family has become the family I was forced to leave behind in my eyes. When I sat down in my room tonight, I tried to think of the best memories I've had with my family and when I say family, I mean my parents and siblings, but the only good memories I could recall were those from my times with the Cena clan, my second family and a family I was proud to call my own. You all have meant the world to me and I'll never forget everything you've done for myself and my grandmother. I'll never leave you all behind, as I'm only catching a lateral pass, exploring another side to my life._

_I don't want you to think that just because I'm moving to Boston College for a little while that I'm leaving forever. You know me better than that, John, and it's only an hour drive back home. Plus, I'd be miserable without you. _

_And I also know that you're going to move Springfield and that it's a two hour drive to get back home here, but it's temporary move that we both need to make. We're seventeen and eighteen years old, John. We need to get out there and see what the world has to offer us… we have to see what's waiting outside the boundaries of West Newbury. I mean, yeah, we've been out of the town, but we've never really looked, and I mean truly looked, at what was around us out there, yet now we have the chance, John, and we have to take it and run with it because otherwise we would be like almost every other person in the world who sits back and wonders 'what if.' _

_We were never meant to be those people, you and I, and it doesn't suit us one bit. Life's all about kicking ass, taking names, and taking chances… it's what makes life so interesting. You're meant to do great things, John Felix Anthony Cena, Jr., and if I never teach you another thing in our entire lives, I hope that you at least learn that._

_Love always,_

_Jessica_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: I wrote this part of the story with the impending graduations of many of my Senior friends in mind, so I hope that all of the emotion I poured into Jessica's letter was really communicated to you all.**

**I hope that the added song suggestion made a difference, too, as that's the song I kept on repeat as I was writing.**

**Please let me know what you all think.**

**I heart Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, MissPhilippinesSuperStar, dj-ssdd, TaylorChesney, Intergalactic smart-ass, and Adrian Jade.**

**Want a shout out too? Review, my little readers!**

**Danielle **


	5. Chapter 5

God, she hated Thanksgiving. It was just another excuse for people to stuff their stomachs beyond their physical capacity and when asked why they suddenly had packed on the pounds, they could easily say: "Oh, it was a big Thanksgiving dinner."

More annoyingly, it gave her father something to hold over her head as a condition of her wrestling training being completely paid for.

So there she was, driving down I-95 at 65 mph, headed towards Greenwich, Connecticut against her will.

In all honesty, Jessica McMahon would have much rather preferred to be with her real family for the weekend. After all, she hadn't seen Diana or the Cena family in four months. More importantly, she hadn't seen John in four months.

Jessica pulled her Sunfire into the circular driveway of her parents' house and parked her car opposite the front door, only to find her mother running out towards the car.

She turned around and smiled genuinely at her mother. After all, it was not she who had chosen to send her away and it _was_ Linda McMahon who called her every single day she was gone.

"Oh, Jessie!" Linda beamed at her youngest child and cupped her face with both of her hands. "Look at you! You look wonderful!"

"Thank you, Mom," she laughed. "You look great too."

"Come in, come in," Linda waved her over towards the house. "Your sister's been home for a few days now and Shane and Marissa will be here a little later this afternoon."

Jessica followed her mother through the front door and into the foyer. She barely remembered the way the house looked anymore. Then again, it probably had some major remodeling done since she'd been gone, after all… it had been ten years since she'd left.

The first voice she heard was unmistakably that of her older sister.

"Jess?" she called from the kitchen, her heels clicking on the marble tiles as she walked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "It's me."

"Oh my God," Stephanie shrieked and ran into the room. "I haven't seen you in ages," she smiled brightly, embracing her sister. "Jesus, you're so grown up."

"That's what happens when you're sent away for ten years," the younger McMahon replied sarcastically.

"Oh for God's sake, Jessica, no one cares anymore," Stephanie waved her off. "It's enough. We've heard the same line for the last ten years, get over it."

Jessica hadn't expected anything less from Daddy's special princess. Stephanie was the suck up and Daddy's angel. God forbid she _actually _disobeyed him.

"I see you haven't changed at all, Steph," Jessica smiled curtly at her sister. "You're the same frigid bitch you were when I left."

"You know what, Jessica, maybe you should go back to West Newbury," Stephanie moved towards her younger sister. "No one wants you here anyway."

"Maybe you should go back to Boston, Steph," she replied bitterly. "Go back to your nice little apartment there and your posh little existence. You don't know what it's like to have to work for what you want."

"Right," she rolled her eyes. "Like I didn't have to get good grades to get into BU."

"Only 'cause BC was your first choice and you got denied," Jessica retorted with a smirk.

"Wipe that god damned smirk off your face, Jessica, and smell the coffee," Stephanie replied angrily. "We left you in West Newbury, with those lower-class, white trash neighbors of yo-"

With one swift motion, Jessica cracked Stephanie in the jaw with her fist and knocked her to the floor. A few moments later, a pair of arms hooked under her shoulders and ripped her off of her older sister.

Stephanie reached up to her lips and wiped blood off of her mouth, "You little…!" she trailed off, shaking her head. "No one wants you here, Jessica. Just go back where you came from. You're not one of us!"

"I want her here."

Jessica turned to face the voice of the man who had pulled her body off of Stephanie's and was met by the eyes of Vince McMahon.

"Jessica," her father looked at her sternly. "We need to talk. Outside. Now."

Stephanie glared at her as she left with Vince and followed him to the backyard.

"Look, you got me to come down here against my will. Now what do you want?"

"Jessica," her father sighed, resting his arms on the railing of the deck, "I never wanted to force you here against your will. This was the only way I could get you here, to hold something more important, like your passion for wrestling, at stake… to get you to hear me out once and for all."

"Hear you out?" she arched an eyebrow at him. "All that I did for weeks was wait for you to call me, but you never did. How many times do you think called me while I was in West Newbury, Dad? Take a guess," she challenged him.

"Oh, I don't know," he shrugged. "Twenty, twenty five times."

"Try eleven, Dad."

"You kept track?" Vince stared at her incredulously.

"Didn't you?" she shot back. "You know, it's really easy to keep track of things that barely occur once a year. Mom called me almost every single day. What's your excuse?"

"I don't have one, Jessica, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?" he turned to stare at his youngest daughter and wondered how she had gotten so bitter and angry. "Did you expect me to give you all the more reason to consider me the cold and cruel man that you've personified me as for most of your life?"

"Dad, you dropped me off to live with Grandma after I took a little trip with you for the weekend. You left me there!" Jessica yelled at him. "How could you expect me to think of you as anything but cold and cruel, when you never gave me a single reason to believe otherwise? You never gave me a reason, Dad. I gave you every opportunity and you still couldn't give me a reason. That's all I ever wanted!"

"Do you remember what it was like for you in school when you were little?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I got in trouble every day and I hated it."

"Did you know that she offered to have you live with her?" he pressed forward.

"No, but it doesn't matter. You could have just told her no, or better yet, told me your reasons… made something up… said anything! I was seven years old… how the hell was I supposed to analyze and understand the situation?!?"

"Look, Jessica, I had my reasons for moving you there. Originally, I didn't even want to think about it. Hell, I wouldn't even consider it," he laughed half-heartedly, "But then I watched you with those boys outside. You were playing and having fun and laughing," Vince smiled to himself, "And for the first time, I saw you really having a good time with some friends. We were running out of places to send you, Jess. There were only so many private and public schools in the area, so I made the decision to keep you there. Your mother, grandmother, and I decided that you'd be happy, no matter how much it hurt Mom and I, we wanted you to be happy, Jessica. If my head prevailed, I'm sure we would have found a way, but in my heart, I know that we were right."

Jessica stood there, staring at her father. For the first time, he had really exposed himself to her. She'd known her father as her Superman as a child and then her Lex Luthor as a teenager, but she wasn't sure what to think of him now.

"But why didn't you ever say anything before?" she continued to question him. "Why did you wait so long to tell me, Dad?"

"I don't know," Vince replied honestly, rubbing his hands over his face. "I guess hating me gave you the will to prove me wrong and to better yourself. I was afraid that if I didn't let you keep that passion alive, you wouldn't keep pushing yourself."

Jessica watched as her father turned and looked out at the expansive backyard of the McMahon estate. Had she been wrong all of these years?

And for the first time, staring at her father, Jessica began to realize that maybe her father wasn't as bad as she had thought after all.

* * *

John's car painfully crunched up the gravel of his parents' driveway and pulled to a stop behind his dad's car. 

"I can't believe he still drives that old thing," Liz shook her head at his beat up old coupe. "As a matter of fact, sometimes I can't believe you still drive _this_ old thing."

John sighed heavily and looked at his rearview mirror.

Yeah, the car was old. Yes, the car was beat up, but it was the first car he ever owned and the first one he ever restored.

"Liz, let's just go inside," he replied. "I really don't want to have an argument before we even get in the house."

"Fine," she replied sharply and pushed open the car door before slamming it shut. "But if we had just gone to my parents' vacation house for Thanksgiving dinner, we wouldn't be fighting right now."

He could only shake his head as he trailed her to the door. He was a college student, for Christ's sake, and if it wasn't bad enough that he was living off Ramen Noodles, he could barely afford those, let alone the money it would take to get to North Carolina for the weekend and back again.

Not even bothering to knock, Liz entered the house.

"Yes," he whispered to no one in particular. "We would."

* * *

Vince had gone back inside nearly an hour ago and Jessica now found herself standing in her father's place at the railing of the deck, wondering if he really meant what he had said. 

"Hey, kiddo," a male voice penetrated her daze and she smiled.

"Shane!" she turned around, beaming at her older brother, and wrapped her arms around his six foot frame. "I missed you!"

"It's been a while, huh?" her older brother replied softly. "Let me take a look at you," he added, pushing her backwards lightly, still holding onto her forearms. "You got taller… and less blonde?"

Jessica smiled and stared into Shane's chocolate brown eyes.

Her grandfather's, she concluded… definitely her grandfather's.

"Yeah, well… that platinum blonde hair didn't last any longer than the third grade. It got darker along the way and well… here we are."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Here we are, in Greenwich, Connecticut, and I still have no idea why."

"You don't?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Not a clue, Jess. Not a clue," he replied. "But from the looks of both you and Dad, I know something is up."

"You could say that…" she trailed off.

"Well?"

"Dad explained to me why he left me with Grandma and how it wasn't that he didn't want me here anymore, he just wanted me to be happy. That's the long and the short of it anyway," she explained simply.

"So what do you believe?"

"I've seen every wrestler on TV fake their emotions, coming close to displaying what it's like to be betrayed or to be in real physical and emotional pain, but I look at him now, Shane…"

"_Hey, Jessie?"_

"_Yes, Daddy?" the little blonde stared up at her father, clutching his hand tightly._

"_What do you say we have a Daddy-daughter day today?" Vince offered, returning the child's gaze._

"_Yeah!" she smiled brightly. "Can we go to the beach?"_

"_Come on, Jessica… you know I don't like the beach and the sand and the salt…" he trailed off, but caught the look of disappointment on his daughter's face. "Oh, alright."_

"And he's not faking it," she shook her head sadly. "He really feels the pain of leaving me behind."

"Jess," Shane closed his eyes briefly and then opened them to look at his sister, "We all hated it when you left."

"But this was different," she responded, wiping her hands over her nose and down her porcelain cheeks. "It was like… it was like I saw him leaving me all over again and that same look he gave me today, I saw on his face ten years ago."

"_Come on, Daddy…" Jessica whined, pulling on his hand in the direction of the ocean. "Let's build a sandcastle!"_

_Vince dusted the sand off of his blue swim trunks, which matched her light blue one-piece with a dark blue ruffle at the waist and grinned at her._

"_Okay, grab your shovel."_

_Jessica grabbed a hold of her shovel and pail in her right hand as her grasp on her father's hand tightened._

"_Let's go!" she squealed in delight as they briskly walked towards the waves._

"_Okay, Princess," Vince began, kneeling into the sand. "You see how the waves stop over here?" he asked her, pointing towards the moist sand, where the waves were reaching towards them with outstretched fingertips._

_She nodded, "Mhmm."_

"_We need this sand to make the best castles," he informed her and shoveled some sand into the bucket until it was full before pressing it upside down into the sand. "Help me pick it up," he instructed her and she put her hands on top of his, pulling the purple pail upwards, leaving behind a perfect turret._

"_Cool, Daddy! You're the bestest sandcastle builder ever!"_

"Jessica," Shane eyed her carefully, "Are you sure?"

"No, Shane, that's just it…" she trailed off, tears brimming her hazel eyes. "How could I make such a mistake, how could I be so sure? Why can't I remember, Shane?" she added weakly, hanging her head low. "What if all these years… I was wrong?"

* * *

"John, are you sure you can't stay the night?" Carol asked her son as he released her from his embrace. 

"Yeah, Mom. I'm sorry," he replied sadly. "Liz and I are going to her aunt's house tomorrow for a second dinner because her parents are going to fly in, as well. I promise, when I come home for Christmas, though, I'll be able to stay for a while."

"Oh, alright," she sighed disappointedly and gave Liz a hug goodbye, as well.

It didn't matter how much she or John Sr. disapproved of her, John was in love with Liz and they had to play nice… for his sake.

"Are you going to be coming again next month, Liz? It'd be nice to see you, as well," John Sr. added as she smiled and shook her head.

"No, sorry, Mr. Cena," Liz replied, "I always spend Christmas with my parents in North Carolina. Thank you for the invitation though."

John smiled at the conversation. Maybe Liz and his parents were beginning to thaw away the ice between them.

"Come on, John," she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the car. "It's getting late."

"Bye Mom, bye Dad!" he managed to call out to them before he nearly fell over.

"Drive safe!" Carol called back as they slid into the car.

"God," Liz scoffed, "I can't believe they expected me to come back in less than a month _again_. I was just here… it's not like I don't have a family of my own, for Christ's sake."

Then again, maybe not.

"You know, Liz," John shook his head as he shifted into reverse, "Sometimes…"

"Sometimes, what?" Liz challenged him with a menacing stare.

"Nothing," he sighed and pulled his foot off the break to roll to the end of the driveway, then shifted into drive again, "Nothing at all."

* * *

"Are you sure you can't stay longer, Jess?" Vince asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder as they stood on the front porch alone. 

"I have to get back, I have classes on Monday and a paper due, too," she lamented. "I'm sorry, Dad. Believe me, I really want to stay, too."

"I know, I really do," he nodded in understanding as they began walking up to the driveway. "Look, I never wanted things to get this bad between you and I. I thought you'd be better off there, live a happier life with your grandmother, but I never thought I'd lose you, Jessie. If I did… I never would have made the decision I did. I'm-"

"Dad," she cut him off as they approached her car. "You don't need to explain yourself to me anymore. I get it. I'm just sorry I never gave you the benefit of the doubt. You are my father… and I never should have let my love for you somehow manifest into hate. There's no excuse for that and I apologize."

"I guess we've both made some mistakes, huh?"

"Yeah," she laughed and slid into the car before turning the key in the ignition and rolling down the window. "Some."

"When are you going to be back? Christmas, maybe?"

"I promised I'd spend Christmas with Grandma."

"Oh," her father's face dropped slightly. "That's alright then."

"But, I'll see what I can do for New Year's," she added with a slight smile to which the elder McMahon nodded. "You and I… well, we have some catching up to do."

"When did you get to be this rational?" Vince chuckled. "It's not in the McMahon bloodline."

"Let's just say I got it from Mom's side of the family," she replied with a grin and drove off into the night.

* * *

**A/N: So there you have it, a little insight into the McMahon family. As of Chapter 4, I felt like... Jessica's family issues were kind of one sided. I hope that this made it a little less so.**

**It's funny, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, you were interested to see how her relationships with her family really were. You actually segwayed into Chapter 5 a little bit, so kudos to you!**

**This chapters shout-outs belong to: beanybaby, EnigmaticLotusLeaf, Adrian Jade, VilleValo-ObsessedMuch, dj-ssdd, ChainGangQueen4Life, and Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker.**

**Seven reviews was a record high for me this past week, BUT, I'd love for my loyal readers out there to SHATTER that record. Come on, I see all you lurking in the shadows out there and simply clicking the alert button... and don't get me wrong, I love you for that, but it's a lot easier to just hit submit review. ;-D**

**I promise, if I get at least... 12 reviews, I will post back to back chapters. Chapter 6 on one day, 7 the next. **

**What are you waiting for? Get reviewing, people!**

** Danielle **


	6. Chapter 6

John turned his old, black car onto the street on which he had grown up and sighed. Everything was covered in snow and he was sick of it.

It wasn't so much that he didn't like the fact that everything looked completely identical under the numerous feet of snow that West Newbury had been receiving the past few nights, nor was it the cold weather he had vowed to eventually move away from. It reminded John too much of _her._

Five months had gone by and they'd exchanged a letter or two, but never more. John was busy with football and his girlfriend, but she probably had her head in the books like always. Then again, could five months really change a person that much?

He wondered where she was right now. Was she at school? Was she at her parents' again? Maybe she had found someone and was spending Christmas with him?

There were so many possibilities that he was trying to wrap his head around, but all of them led to the same conclusion.

He still missed Jessica.

John's street was extremely long and he lived near the very end of it, four houses before the end, as a matter of fact. As his car slowly crept towards the end, he passed every snow-coated vehicle and tried to guess what each one was.

Accord.

Neon.

Camry.

Accord.

Caprice.

Mustang.

Sunfire.

F-150.

John jammed on his brakes, coming to a light skid in the snow.

"Sunfire?" he asked himself aloud, staring out into the night.

He turned his head towards the powdered car and slowly lifted his gaze to the house. Even in the harsh weather, he could tell.

"Yellow house, green shutters," John smiled and pulled into his own driveway.

John idled the car, took the key out of the ignition, and pocketed the key ring in his jacket pocket as he began the trek across the familiar territory.

The snow was powdery and fresh, but even if it was icy and solid he wouldn't have cared. Nothing was going to stop him from seeing his best friend.

As John arrived at her porch, he checked his watch.

_4:15 am_

Except maybe that.

The light in the family room was still on and John decided to at least knock. If it was Diana, he didn't want to scare her by letting himself inside. If no one was awake, he'd head on back home and return at a reasonable hour.

The door opened quickly and there was Diana McMahon in her housecoat and slippers.

"John!" she whispered and waved him inside. "Come in, come in!"

He stepped inside the house and inhaled deeply.

_Cookies. _

"A fresh batch is out and a second is in the oven," Diana smiled knowingly at her neighbors' son, but as he moved towards the kitchen she stopped him. "Ah ah ah. Off with the shoes."

John nodded and cracked a slight smile. It had been so long that he had almost forgotten.

And yet, he realized the cookies had made him forget exactly why he had stopped by this early in the first place.

"Mrs. McMahon, I was just wonder-"

"Yes," Diana nodded at John with a wry grin. "She got in around midnight and the poor thing was so tired. I think she was out before she even hit the pillow!"

"Do you think I could see her?" John asked softly, his crystal blue orbs glinting in the dim glow of the family room.

She nodded, "Of course. No one told her you were coming home, so it'll be a nice surprise. Just be careful," Diana warned him. "You know how cranky that child gets."

John sat at the edge of her bed and stared over at his best friend. She was different now. Her long, blonde hair was now slightly darker and wavy, yet she looked older, not tired, just older.

He had never actually watched her as she slept before. Sure, there had been plenty of times she had stayed at his house and vice versa, but this was the first time he had actually taken a good look at her.

Silently, he wondered what she was dreaming of. Was she dreaming of a career? Was she dreaming of school? Was she dreaming of her perfect man?

The answer to that question? Well, John didn't really know for sure, but he was sure that he wanted to see her eyes the moment she awoke and the reaction on her face.

His hand moved to her shoulder and shook her lightly.

She didn't wake up.

The next time, he shook her a little bit harder and she started to stir.

Moments later, Jessica opened her eyes and turned to face the clock.

_4:26 am._

As she rolled over to her right side, Jessica silently cursed whoever had woken her up, thinking they had to have a damn good reason for getting her up at this ungodly hour.

But then she saw just who had woken her up and a grin instantly spread across her lips.

"John."

Good enough.

"Hey," John returned her smile. "Long time no see."

Jessica shot upright and threw her arms around her best friend, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," he replied, tightening his grasp on her.

"How's the football season been?" she asked, pulling back from him as his grip loosened on her.

"I'm a Freshman, not much playing time, but it looks like I might be an All-American," John beamed proudly.

"John, that's awesome!"

"Yeah, it is," he nodded. "But enough about me… what have you been up to? How's school going? How was your Thanksgiving? I missed you here."

"I missed you too," she admitted. "I was at my parents' place in Connecticut for the day."

"Yeah, I heard, poor girl. Sucked, huh?"

"Actually… it was fine," Jessica shrugged.

"Fine?" John's eyes widened incredulously. "You were in a house with your father and it was fine?"

"What adjective were you expecting, Cena?"

"Oh, I don't know… hellish, maybe."

"You want to hear something funny?" she asked, pulling her jeans-clad knees up towards her chest. "It was anything but that."

John stared at her for a moment and then put the back of his right hand to her forehead and pressed the palm of his left to his own.

"You don't feel feverish," he concluded, placing both of his hands back on the bed. "So who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"

"Oh, stop it," she rolled her eyes at him and pushed his shoulder with her hand. "I know it's crazy, but I… I just don't know. I mean, Dad and I… we're not okay with each other just yet, but we're getting there."

"What the hell could possibly make you change your mind about him?"

"Imagine," Jessica began, "That you spend most of your life hating someone for abandoning you, yet while that hatred boils and manifests inside of you, that person is putting his or her feelings aside so that you can continue to push yourself to prove him or her wrong. Imagine living everyday knowing someone you love hates you because of a misconception that you could disprove any time you want, but refuse to, knowing it keeps his or her determination strong."

John kept his gaze on her eyes, even though at the moment, she couldn't return the favor. She was acting sheepish, almost nervous that he'd judge her, afraid he'd shun her for what she'd done.

"That hateful person is me, John," she sighed. "And that selfless person is my father."

There was a deafening silence in the room. What could he possibly say in response to that? She had just told him that parts of her life, for the last ten years, were lies… a false reality built upon them.

"How'd you find out?"

"I showed up at the house and saw Mom and Stephanie. Stephanie told me to get over the fact that I was left her because nobody cared anymore… and I responded. Before long," Jessica allowed a smirk to pass over her lips, "I was on top of her and landing punches."

"What did you say to her?" John cracked a wry grin knowingly.

"I called her a frigid bitch," the smirk on her face grew to a proud grin.

"So she hit you first?" John arched an eyebrow.

"Well, no…" she trailed off, avoiding his penetrating stare.

"Why do I get the feeling that I had something to do with it?" he asked her suspiciously, taking notice of her darting eyes.

"She called you and your family white trash, John," Jessica answered, finally looking him in the eyes. "I couldn't just sit there and take it."

John smiled internally at the notion that his best friend stuck up for him and his family, even when it came to her biological sister. As it was, her relationship with her family was tense and he didn't want her to continue risking that for him, but at the same time, John couldn't help but be proud.

He allowed the left corner of his lip to curl upwards into a smirk that matched his best friend's, "Did you at least make her bleed?"

"Okay, Jessica," John tossed a messily wrapped box over to his best friend beside the extensively decorated Christmas tree across from him. "That one's your's."

"Well, in that case," she trailed off and searched under the tree for a specific present and plucked it out carefully, "This one is for you."

"Before you open your's, though," John interrupted her furious tearing of the paper, "I have to provide you with a disclaimer."

"Look," Jessica put a hand up and looked directly at him, "As long as it's not a stripping contortionist in this box, I'm cool."

"You know what? That's was only one time and I thought you'd get a laugh out of it!"

"Yeah, I laughed my ass off…" she rolled her eyes noticeably. "And so did my GRANDMOTHER."

"Oops," John snickered. "But seriously, I'm a college student and kind of low on cash right now, so this was the best I could do."

"John, I didn't even know if you were going to be home for Christmas, alright?" Jessica's face softened and she spoke to John sweetly. "You just being here is enough for me."

Carol couldn't help but smile at her son and his best friend.

"Spoken like a true best friend," she nodded.

"What are you two waiting for?" John Senior cut in. "Open them already!"

Jessica finished first and tore apart the remainder of the red wrapping paper. She lifted the lid of the box and reached in for the crimson and white fabric.

"Number 54, Cena," she beamed as she stretched the mesh jersey across her body to model it for the room. "I love it! I don't care if I'm at BC, they'll learn to deal."

"You really like it?" John asked her.

"No, I love it, John!" she threw her arms around her best friend. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he nodded. "Do I get to open mine now?"

She shot backwards sharply, "Yeah! Of course!"

Her present, in staunch contrast to his, was wrapped neatly in green wrapping paper adorned with patterned candy canes, topped with an extravagant array of Christmas ribbon, curled down to the root.

That was typical of Jessica, meticulous to the last bit.

John took the present in his hands and broke the ribbon in half between his two hands.

"Show off," she mumbled as a small smile played at his lips.

He tore off the green paper and carefully lifted the lid on his box. John dug around in the tissue paper, but came up with nothing.

"What lovely… tissue paper…"

"Careful how roughly you rip through that, John," Jessica chimed in. "You might rip them."

"Rip what?" he asked her.

"What's taped to the bottom of the box," she shrugged innocently.

John turned over the box to dump out the tissue paper and widened his eyes when he saw what they were.

"You didn't!" he exclaimed happily.

"I did," she bounced her shoulders and glanced towards the ceiling.

"But how?" he asked her in disbelief. "They've been sold out for months."

"Come on, John," Jessica laughed at her friend. "Doesn't my last name mean anything to you?"

John was absolutely floored. God only knew what she had to do to get these tickets, let alone these seats, and all he would be able to do for the next three months would be planning out the entire weekend.

"Thank you," John beamed, still shaking his head in surprise. "But isn't it in Hartford?"

"You know that road trip we always planned on taking?" Jessica asked him rhetorically. "This is it."

"I can't believe you got these… I still don't manage how you did it. The tickets have been on sale forever," he added, still in complete shock.

It made Jessica incredibly happy to see that her tickets had made John speechless, which was something, even he acknowledged, was extremely difficult to do. Regardless of how many strings she had to pull to get them, the look of pure joy on his face was worth it. Not to mention, it would be an entire weekend of fun with her best friend. It would be John Cena and Jessica McMahon. Better yet, it would be John and Jessica… and no Liz.

"Well," Jessica scrunched her nose innocently, "Let's just say I made my sister bleed for them."

* * *

**A/N: So this is my last update for the next two weeks before I go to Europe on Wednesday. If it's any consolation, I am taking two notebooks with me, one for each of my stories, and who knows? Maybe being in four new countries will inspire me?**

**Rest assured, She's a Rebel is my priority in terms of writing at the moment, as I already have four more chapters waiting for Partners in Crime. Trust me, I know where I'm going and I have a lot planned.**

**As for this chapter, Chapter 6, I wanted to end on a good note for my temporary hiatus, but I still kind of left you guys wondering exactly what those tickets are for and guess what? You might be on the right track, but you probably aren't on the bullseye as much as you think you are. **

**To hold you over a little bit, I wanted to give you a little hint as to what's to come. For those of you who know John's history rather well, something significant occurs right after his next birthday. I will be addressing this event and you can be 100 certain that it will greatly affect his relationship with Jessica McMahon. After this event, everything in their respective lives begins to change drastically. Please, readers, if you do know... don't spoil it for everyone else!**

**Per usual, please let me know what you think and I promise I will type up all of my material when I come home. Expect another update on 7/14 or 7/15.**

**Shout out to my loyal readers:**

**Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker , EnigmaticLotusLeaf, MissPhilippinesSuperStar, beanybaby, kimberlin, itsalexaaa, and Adrian Jade. **

**Have an excellent two weeks and a very happy Independence Day… and remember, my reviews challenge still stands: 12 reviews for SAR and when I return, two days of back to back chapters. :-D **

** Danielle **


	7. Chapter 7

Jessica's eyes fluttered open and squinted against the harsh afternoon sunshine. Despite leaving at 8am sharp, the Massachusetts highways had not been kind.

John had volunteered to take the first shift and in complete honesty, Jessica was glad. She would not have faired well in the last four hours of bumper to bumper traffic and her Sunfire had not even crossed over the state lines yet.

But in a strange way, the prolonged car ride was worth it. There was no Liz to wedge between them and no school work to keep it that way. This was Jessica's dream weekend and she could finally share in it with her best friend.

"Good morning, Sunshine," John smiled at her, glancing at the passenger's side briefly and then back at the road.

"We still in Mass?" Jessica asked him curiously, rubbing her still tired eyes.

"Yeah, but only for a few more miles. Do you want to switch when we get to Connecticut?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "I know my way around the state pretty well. The road to… where we're staying… is kind of convoluted."

"English, please?"

"Oh… weird," she laughed at his confused state.

* * *

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful and there was very little traffic in her birth state either. In fact, they'd be right on time. 

"Hey, John?" Jessica asked her best friend as they pulled off at the exit.

"What's up?"

"I have a confession to make," she sighed. "We're not exactly staying at a hotel. In fact, I didn't really make reservations anywhere…"

"That's all right," John nodded. "We'll find somewhere along the way to get a room."

"No, that's not what I mean," she shook her head at him.

_God, you can be so oblivious sometimes._

"Remember how I said I had to pull some strings?" she asked him, turning onto a familiar street.

"Mhmm…" he trailed off in suspicion, looking at the increasingly large houses they were passing.

"I had to agree to some… conditions."

John's eyebrows immediately shot upwards in curiosity.

"And would these conditions be?"

"Well…" she bit her lip as they pulled up beside a large, roving estate. "This is it."

"This is the condition?" he chuckled in disbelief. "What's so bad about this?"

"John Cena," Jessica stated before taking a deep breath, "Welcome to McMahon Manor."

As John and Jessica lurched up the driveway, she wasn't quite sure what to expect from her family.

Linda would be the courteous hostess and mother that Jessica knew and loved.

Shane would be the cool big brother.

Vince would probably be the cordial businessman he was in the presence of most.

And Stephanie… would probably be a sarcastic bitch, but John would be used to it. After all, so was his girlfriend.

Linda greeted them the moment they left the car. John had met her three times in his life and she was as kind and polite as ever.

As she ushered him through the towering front doors of the house, John couldn't help but look around in awe. Not only was the house massive, but his entire first floor would fit in just the foyer with room left over.

"John?" Jessica snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Earth to Cena…"

"Wait. What?"

"Space case," she laughed. "Come on, we're going to meet my dad."

"We're going to see who?" his eyes widened.

"My father, John," she repeated slowly.

"Vince McMahon?" he blinked.

"Yeah, unless my mom hasn't been telling me something all of these years. Then again, I'm kind of used to being misled-"

Suddenly, a man cleared his throat and John and Jessica turned around to find her father standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Good afternoon, Mr. McMahon," John managed to force out.

"Mr. McMahon?" Vince laughed heartily. "Please, call me Vince… wait a minute," Vince cocked his head to the side as a thin smile crossed his lips, "Are you John?"

"Yes, sir… I mean, Vince."

Jessica was struggling to contain her laughter as she watched her best friend, the 6'1", 215 pound lineman made of almost pure muscle, stammer in the presence of her father. The rough and tough John Cena had been reduced to a bumbling idiot.

"Little John Cena, Jr," he marveled and shook his head. "The last time I saw you… I think you were about 4'5" and a popsicle stick. You've certainly changed!"

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted, slightly embarrassed that his best friend's father remembered his scrawny days.

"So what have you been up to these days, Mr. Cena? College, I hope."

"Of course," John nodded.

"What are you studying…?"

Maybe the weekend wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

* * *

John sat down on the bed in the guest room and marveled at how much bigger the room was than his own back in Massachusetts, as Jessica walked into the doorway. 

"Hello there," she smiled at him. "All settled?"

He glanced around the room, from the mahogany dressers to the cream-colored walls.

"I think so," he replied, pushing his nagging thoughts aside.

"Well, Dad said that we could catch a ride with him to the Civic Center if we wanted. Once we get there, we can do what we want," Jessica continued to say, but noticed the blank stare on his face. "John? What is it? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit," she retorted quickly. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he sighed and laid back onto the bed, so that his legs were hanging off the mattress from the knee-down. "I guess, I look around here and wonder why you'd ever want to come back… to West Newbury, I mean."

Jessica continued to eye him oddly.

"Before, you hated your dad, but now you don't," he paused and then tried to cover his statement, "I meant, I'm happy you and your dad are cool now, don't get me wrong, I just don't see what's stopping you from staying."

"John," Jessica shook her head and sat beside him on the blue comforter, "I have a life back there. You're there, Grandma's there, your family's there… West Newbury's my hometown, no matter where I was born or where my parents reside. I can't just erase the eleven years I've lived there; it's made me who I was."

"So you're not going to move here?"

"No!" Jessica exclaimed loudly. "God, no. My sister and I can't be left in a room together for more than five minutes before we try to kill each other," she laughed and picked herself up off the bed. "I'd never leave West Newbury for Stamford. What gave you that idea?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"You've been saying that a lot lately," she cracked a smile at him.

"Well if you lived in a little town in a little house and then… boom! Stayed at your friend's parents' mansion for the weekend, you'd be a little overwhelmed too!"

"God, John," she rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you're such a butthead."

"Hey!" he pouted. "That's Steve, not me! I resent being one by association!"

"Whatever, Cena. Let's head out."

* * *

Vince stepped out of the black limousine first, followed closely by his daughter, and lastly, her best friend. After the driver closed the door behind him, Vince smoothed down his slacks and turned towards his youngest daughter. 

"I have to attend to some matters backstage," he began, fumbling with his watch. "Are you going to be alright on your own, Jess?"

"Dad, I'm almost eighteen," she chuckled.

"Sorry, I forget that sometimes. Trying to make up for lost chances, I guess," he shrugged.

"Well, Mr. McMahon," John interred, trying to cover up the awkwardness clearly present between them, "Jess and I are off to explore."

"Right," he nodded in response. "I trust you to find your way?"

"Yes," Jessica replied and watched as her father turned and disappeared behind a set of doors.

But as John began to head for the doors as well, a hand on his arm halted him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Well," he looked at his white Reeboks and then to the clear, glass doors of the Civic Center, "I'm here in the parking lot… of the Civic Center… and my best friend's father just gave me an invitation to go inside, so… I was planning on going inside."

"Well remember how I told you there were conditions… with an s?" she smirked, sliding behind his body and out of sight.

"Yeah…"

Suddenly, John felt her hands stretch over his shoulders and the world around him went dark.

"This is it."

* * *

"Jessica, if you make me bump into one more thing, I'm ripping off this blindfold and-" 

"And what?" she challenged, stopping dead in her tracks, causing John to stop as well.

"You're such a bitch sometimes, you know that?" he frowned at no one in particular.

"Come on," she laughed at his frustration, "Don't you know what blood I have running through my veins?"

"I do, but…" John began to answer, still flustered at having to rely on her guidance.

"Stairs," she interrupted and he heeded her warning. "Thanks, guys, you can tie them off now."

"No problem, Ms. McMahon," a random voice, far off to John, answered. "If you need anything else, please let me know."

Jessica nodded and crept behind John once again, "You were saying?"

"I was SAYING, in reference to the venom that you call blood running through your veins, that it is still no reason for you to be bitchy."

"Come on, John," she lowered her voice, "Isn't this worth it?"

"Isn't what worth it?" he asked her confusedly.

"This," Jessica replied simply and untied the blindfold, allowing it to fall onto the bare canvas at their feet.

She stepped out from behind and stared at him, watching as his turquoise eyes drank in the world around him.

This world was nothing like the one back in West Newbury; this one was one of glamour and adoration or hatred and disdain, but the choice was your own.

Miraculously, his feet unfroze and he walked over to the end of the square in order to get a better look at everything surrounding him.

John rested his strong hands on the flimsy, red line in front of him as he gazed outward. The seats were empty, soon to be filled with thousands of people for the pinnacle of Sports Entertainment, yet John couldn't help but dream of the day in which Jessica would look out into the crowd and see all eyes on her, the day in which John would gaze into the sea of bodies and know they were there to see him.

The more John thought about Jessica, the more he realized how stupid it was to think that she would leave him behind back home. They'd met up this morning for the first time in three and a half months and judging by how much she'd missed him, he knew just how wrong he had been.

After all, she had sacrificed a lot to do this for him. He knew she had a term paper due Monday that she'd been slaving over for the past week, but she had done it for him… to give him a gift he could never have imagined:

A dream.

* * *

**A/N: So I'm back after my long hiatus! I wrote a lot over the course of my two-week adventure in Europe and thank God you don't have to read the chapter from the notebook it was in. If you did, it'd be chicken scratch... it's hard writing on boats, trains, planes, and buses!**

**So this chapter isn't exactly eventful, but the next one is HUGE! It took me forever to get it the way I wanted and there are so many cross-outs on the page.**

**Well, let me know what you all think!**

**And as usual, shout out to my loyal readers: dj-ssdd, Adrian Jade, Daddy's Lil HeartBreaker, and Enigmatic Lotus Leaf.**

**Please read and review, everyone... four was down from my previous high of seven. Give me a good welcome home present and you shall be rewarded. :-)**

**Danielle **


	8. Chapter 8

_I just needed to write a little precursory note just to let you know that while I apologize for this chapter being so short, this scene really needs to be standalone, as it's too... well...erm... important... to be packaged with anything else. Happy Reading._

* * *

John looked over at the clock, careful not to disturb the body beside him.

_3:27 am_

He hadn't been woken up this early in the morning since he'd moved in with Liz at the end of term nearly a month ago. Everyone knew that there was another person to consider before calling the house these days.

He smiled at her perfect body, clad in grey shorts and a white camisole. No matter what anyone else said, he loved her more than anything and it had become apparent that he could very well spend the rest of his life with her.

But his pleasant thoughts were interrupted by the incessant ringing in his ears.

"John," she groaned beside him, curling into his chest. "Make it stop."

Trying to keep one arm around her, he inched his left arm towards the nightstand and finally reached his phone.

"Hello?" he answered groggily.

"John," a voice whispered, choking on tears.

"Jessica?" he replied raspily, gently sliding his arm out from around Liz.

But there was no reply from the other end, only the sound of a young woman crying.

"Jessica?" he repeated, hooking his knees over the edge of the bed, holding the phone closer to his ear.

"I-I-I'm sorry," she managed to reply. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be," he answered, rubbing his eyes. "I don't care how late it is."

"No, it's- it's not that…" she began, but started to tear up again. "Oh, John… I'm so sorry. I just didn't know what else to do."

"Jessica," John spoke softly, concern laced within her name. "What's wrong?"

"I don't even know where to start!" Jessica cried audibly.

"Just…" he trailed off, running his hand along his strong jaw, "Just start at the end result."

"Mom… Dad… divorce…"

"Oh, Jessica," he sighed heavily and shook his head, closing his eyes lightly, "I'm so sorry. I know it's hard, Jess, but sometimes people fall out of love. And you don't have to worry about calling so late, really, you don't…"

Liz mumbled something at the statement and John quickly whispered a brief apology to her before turning his attention back to his phone call.

"No, John…" she began to hold off her tears. "My dad probably would rather be miserable for the rest of his life than part with his money."

John managed to smile at her comment. It amazed him that she could still crack jokes at a time like this one, yet now there was only one question on his mind.

"But if they aren't getting a divorce, then… who is?"

For a moment, John could only hear silence on the other end and tension he could cut with a knife.

"Your parents, John."

And with those few words, the knife rolled off of the air and plunged into his own chest.

"No…" he shook his head in disbelief and switched on the lamp beside him.

"Yes, John," Jess began to cry again. "I am so sorry."

"But… how?" he asked, finally able to allow the question to pass through his lips. "A divorce? Mom and Dad?"

"There was just one last fight tonight," she sniffled loudly, "And your dad yelled something about how they had tried and tried the past few years, but it just wasn't working out anymore. Your mom did some yelling, as well, and said that she was leaving and going to your aunt's. She left about three hours ago and called my grandmother, around 1 am, to say she was alright."

This time, it was John's turn to be silent as Jessica heard a distinct pause on his end.

"John?" Liz mumbled to him, "Come back to bed."

"Not now, baby. I'm having a little crisis here," he said, staring blankly at the floor.

"Come on…" she whined.

"Not FUCKING now, Liz!" he barked at her, clearly losing his patience with her antics.

"Don't yell at me!" she seethed back at him, rising from the bed. "I didn't make your parents divorce! I'm the one who talked you down after their fights! Why is she even calling you?" she spat as her rage continued. "THEY did this to YOU and they didn't even have the decency to even call?"

Liz did make a point, in his opinion, as Jessica should not have been the one to call.

How could they disregard him like that?

_I bet they called Steve,_ he thought to himself, referring to his older brother.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he relented and focused his attention back to the telephone. "Jess, I've got to go…"

"John…" she plead with him, "Please come home."

"John, come back to bed already," Liz slid her hand onto his shoulder.

"I need you," Jessica whispered pitifully.

"I can't sleep without you next to me," his girlfriend continued.

"Your mom needs you," she added.

"She'll be fine on her own…"

"Your dad needs you too…"

"John, they'll still be there in the morning," Liz rolled her eyes.

"John?" Jessica asked the silence.

"John?" Liz echoed.

"You there?"

"Baby?"

"John…"

"John."

"Cena."

"John!" Liz and Jessica exclaimed simultaneously, knocking John back into reality.

He took a deep breath and sighed, "Jess, I'm sorry…" he lamented. "I can't."

"You can't?" she asked him hoarsely. "Or you won't?"

John looked over at his girlfriend, her eyes full of false concern and exhaled deeply, "There's just somewhere else I need to be right now."

A completely shocked Jessica McMahon could only sit on her bed and listen as John Cena hung up the phone with a click and the conversation ran cold.

* * *

**A/N: So there's that huge event that I hinted about before I left for Europe. I hope you now see why I had to leave it as a standalone scene and that you understand my reasons for doing so.**

**And while that covers a major event in John's life, you're about to see Jessica go through a major event in her own. Don't be fooled, though... it's not what you're thinking. At least, I don't think so, but then again... I never claimed to be a mindreader. Not today, anyway.**

**Please let me know what you think, via reviews, of course, and, as always, I appreciate the following people:**

**Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, dj-ssdd, ginny-potter-07, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, and Adrian Jade.**

**Danielle **


	9. Chapter 9

The crowd booed and screamed as the four members of the Corporation made their way to the ring. Vince McMahon led the pack down the ring, followed by his son, Shane, the Rock, and his daughter, the only one without a title, the only one who he had refused to let wrestle.

She stood militant beside him, her hands behind her back, legs slightly spread in stance, ready for anything. As much as Vince didn't want her wrestling, he knew having him by her side would prove to be quite valuable. Then again, at twenty two years old, she was more valuable than most anyone else in the company.

"Tonight is a very good night for the Corporation," Vince announced to the jeering crowd. "It has been a full 6 months since Shane and the Rock won their respective titles!"

Jessica stood attentive and silent as the crowd continued to boo her father.

"Hey," the Rock interjected into his own microphone, "This is your WWE chairman, show some damn respect… know your role and shut your mouth."

Of course, as anticipated, the crowd went even crazier, but it wasn't the fact that the Rock had spoken, it was because Stone Cold Steve Austin was storming the ring.

Vince looked at Jessica, who nodded, and stepped towards the front of the ring. As Austin made it through the ropes and stood upright, she grabbed his arm and wrenched it behind his body. Somewhat incapacitated, she locked his other arm back and slid her arms around his neck. Now in a full nelson, she lifted the helpless Austin into the air and slammed him down onto the mat.

Barely surveying the damage, the Corporation walked out of the ring and up the ramp.

* * *

"You want me to protect you, but you won't even let me have the respect of a title around my waist?" 

"Jessica, you'll have a match when you're ready," Vince replied coolly, still looking at the documents on his desk.

"But I am! Don'y you ever see me out there?" she exclaimed in frustration. "It's been over a year since I first proved to you that I can take out the big guys… I took down Stone Cold . Stone Cold Steve Austin!"

"You know," Vince dropped his papers flatly onto his desk, "I don't know what's gotten into you, young lately."

Jessica sighed, "I'm sorry, sir… I just really want to wrestle."

"What do you think, Rock?" he turned to the tall, muscular man in the door way, whose presence had been surprisingly silent until then.

"The Rock says… let the girl wrestle."

"Fine," Vince replied, "But I choose your opponent," he concluded and then walked out the door, presumable to book the match.

Jessica turned to look at the Rock and smiled, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For getting me my match," she nodded.

"Hey," he laughed, "I didn't just kick Triple H's ass; that was all on you."

"I know, but…" she sighed, "You could have done what everyone else does and gone with what he wanted, but you didn't."

"Let me make this distinction, Vince McMahon doesn't own the Rock. The Rock owns the Rock. And just like the Rock," he leaned in closely, so she could smell his cologne, "He doesn't own Jessica McMahon either."

Jessica changed into her black wrestling pants with a blue calligraphy J and M on each leg, along with her sapphire wrestling tank.

As she made her way to the ring, she heard a multitude of boos, but a few cheers mixed in, as well.

She would go on to defeat Ivory that night, brutally ending the match in under two minutes, but faced a more difficult foe in the Women's Champion, Sable.

They went on to feud on and off for months, but then Backlash came and Vince decided that it might be time to add a third champion.

* * *

"Oh, Jessie… look at you," a voice stated proudly from the doorway of the Corporation's locker room. 

"Grandma!" she ran towards the door and embraced her grandmother. "How…?"

"Your father," she dismissed the question and smiled. "Excited?"

"Yes, m'am!" Jessica shook her head up and down quickly. "I'm shaking."

"Your grandfather would be so proud of you," she continued, eying her granddaughter. "A third generation of wrestling and the first generation of women. Not surprising, as you look just like him."

"I do?"

"Yes," Diana smiled and turned her towards the long, rectangular mirror. "Your eyes… are his eyes. I look in them and I see the same passion he had."

Jessica glanced at the wall clock.

"Grandma, I have a few minutes until I have to be down there… go get yourself to your seat, okay?"

"Sure," Diana nodded. "I'll see you later."

* * *

A sudden knock on the door forced her head to turn around. As soon as she turned around, she locked eyes with the 6'4" half-Samoan who had become her only friend in the company. 

"Hey," he smiled at her.

"Hey," she returned his grin. "Come in."

"The Rock just wanted to tell you good luck," he started, walking towards her and into the room, "Because he knows that it's a big match, but you're going to be just fine. Sable won't know what hit her."

"You think?"

Yeah," the Rock nodded. "And I also think that it's definitely a match to watch because Sable fights dirty and has been known to rip the clothing off of her opponents… or, uh… so the Rock has heard."

Jessica couldn't help but laugh at this.

"McMahon, two minutes!" a voice called from the other side of the door.

"You know, I should probably get going," Jess added, breaking his gaze.

"Probably," he agreed, "Good luck, McMahon."

Not even thinking, Jess wrapped her arms around his body and embraced him tightly. "Thank you."

The Rock's body remained frozen solid. He was the tough guy, the one no one could mess with and ice cold, but here was this young woman, picking away at the icicles.

He allowed his body to relax and patted her back awkwardly, unsure how to return her gesture.

_What the hell…_

The Rock slid his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close in a warm embrace.

"You're welcome, Jess."

* * *

Jessica hit the ring to a decent pop and laid in wait for Sable. 

The playboy covergirl strutted down to the ring amongst a chorus of cheers with a few jeers mixed in, as well. Apparently, they hadn't seen her photo shoot.

Jessica couldn't help but smile at both thoughts, as one meant that some people were there just to see her.

The bell sounded and the two women locked up in the center of the ring. Sable grabbed her by the arm and twisted it, causing Jess to try and pull her arm free. After a few moments, she tumbled forward over her opponent's arm and kicked out her legs. As Sable fell hard to the mat, Jessica bounced off the ropes and landed an elbow. Hooking her leg, she applied a pin.

1- kickout.

Sable landed an elbow to her midsection and tossed Jess into the corner, throwing in a few punches. She whipped her into the opposite corner and tried to wait for her to bounce off. This, however, was not the case as Jessica remained in her corner and waited for Sable, placing her hands over the emerald J and M on her wrestling pants.

As the reigning champion headed over, Jessica grabbed her and traded places with her, nailing her with a few more punches.

But Sable would not go down without a fight. Sable shoved Jessica to the ground and began working on her left knee, stomping on it relentlessly.

1-2-kickout.

The challenger crawled towards the corner, but the Women's Champion followed, stomping on her midsection.

The veteran made a fatal mistake however, when she attempted to lock in a Sable Bomb, but allowed her attention to be diverted to the crowd for a pop. While her attention was elsewhere, Jessica landed a shoulder into her midsection with a powerful thrust forward into the ropes, causing Sable to bounce off wildly.

The youngest McMahon stumbled to her feet and looked over at Sable. The fall had forced her head hard onto the mat and she was out cold. She looked out into the crowd and then at the turnbuckle.

With a smile, she grabbed onto her opponent's wrist and pulled her towards the corner of the ring. Painstakingly, Jessica climbed to the top rope and took a deep breath, clearing her thoughts.

_This one's for you, Grandpa._

Jessica pushed off of the rope and corkscrewed 450 degrees in the air before landing on top of Sable. She bounced a little further away, but crawled back and hooked her leg.

1-2-3.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match and the new WWF Women's Champion, Jessica McMahon!"

Surprisingly, the crowd was cheering her on. She was supposed to be a heel. They were supposed to hate her, but they didn't.

They loved her.

Jessica beamed out into the writhing abyss, her gaze flooded by tears.

She had done it. A dream was born the moment she entered the world, a dream that took 21 years to fulfill.

* * *

She returned up the ramp to the backstage area and was met with congratulations and pats on the back. 

"Where is she?" Jessica asked, scanning the room.

"Jess," Shane put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "She's right here."

"Jessie."

"Grandma!" she cried, hearing her grandmother's voice behind her.

"I'm so proud of you, Jessica," Diana smiled at her granddaughter through tears.

Diana would never understand just how much she meant to Jessica. She was the only person Jessica had for so long and to her, the moment just would not have been complete without her.

* * *

As much as Jessica was enjoying her new reign as Women's Champion, she couldn't help but allow her thoughts to drift to someone else. 

In her head, she thought of John. She hadn't wondered about him in a while, not since everything had happened back in 1996.

Today, though, she wasn't surprised. Wrestling had ultimately brought them together as best friends and Liz had torn them apart.

She wondered if he was watching when she won or if he had seen Backlash at all. She hoped that if he had, he was proud of what she'd done. More over, she hoped that, if he had, he was proud of what she'd done. More over, she hoped that John had at least seen her, four years older, four years wiser, and four years stronger.

"Well, look who it is, the new Women's Champion."

"You know, Rock," Jessica slung her belt over her shoulder, "You can't just walk into the locker room unannounced. What if I wasn't dressed?"

A slow smile spread across his face as he flashed her his famous grin.

She smacked his arm playfully, "Jerk."

"Whoa, killer. Don't bruise my arm like that! I have a match next," he laughed at her.

"Well, I guess this is my time to wish you good luck."

"The Rock doesn't need good luck, Jessica."

* * *

There he was, laying in the center of the ring, staring at the lights of the ceiling of the arena.

Stone Cold Steve Austin stood atop the turnbuckle and lifted his newly won belt into the air as flashed littered the arena.

He had let himself down, he had let the Corporation down, and most importantly, he had let Vince McMahon down.

* * *

"Hey, kiddo," Dwayne smiled weakly at her as he slowly made his way towards her in the hallway.

"Hello there," she replied brightly.

"Congrats on the gold… it's just the beginning for you. It all goes uphill from here," he nodded kindly.

"Really? And here I thought that this was it!"

"You don't even have your first piece of merch out there yet! Wait until you see a kid wearing your shirt for the first time," he recalled fondly.

"That sounds great," she replied enthusiastically. "So… how are your ribs holding up, man?"

"They've been better, they've been worse. All that matters is that I still look good," he shrugged.

"Spoken like the Rock," Jessica mused.

"I've got to get in a good mindset for tomorrow and a whole new side of the Rock," Dwayne informed her. "And it's getting late. Don't party too hard, McMahon. We've got a big day tomorrow. I'll see you then."

"Night, Dwayne," she responded and walked back to her father's awaiting limo where Shane was also waiting.

* * *

"So how does it feel to carry the gold, Jess?" Shane asked as they exited the limo for the hotel.

"It feels like I've finally proved everyone wrong," Jessica spoke softly. "But… I don't know. It's just…" she trailed off with a slight sigh.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yes, Shane?" Vince responded to his son.

"You go ahead. I'm just gonna talk to Jess for a while."

Vince nodded and headed into the hotel for his room.

"Coffee, Jess?"

"Yeah, couldn't hurt, right?" she chuckled half-heartedly. "No getting drunk, so I deserve at least this much, right?"

"Right," he answered weakly.

Shane knew that no matter how happy his sister was to win the title, deep down, she wished John was around to congratulate her. The way her and John had left things was kind of rough, in his opinion. He had refused to leave his girlfriend's side for three months, barely calling his separated parents. After Jessica's phone call, she never so much as spoke to him again.

In Jess's opinion, John had turned his back on his family and friends the moment he said he had other things to take care of. He hadn't called her for two weeks to check up on his parents and once he did, due to the miracle that was caller ID, she refused to answer.

"I know you miss him, Jess," Shane sympathized.

"Am I that obvious tonight?" she asked as she traced the edge of her mug with her fingertips.

"I'm your brother, obvious or not, I know."

"It's just that I always knew I'd get here someday, but I thought I'd have him watching at the least," she shrugged and took a sip of her coffee.

"You never know, Jess. Old habits tend to die hard."

* * *

"John?" a female voice called from the kitchen. 

"Yeah?" he responded from the bedroom, exchanging his black gym shirt for a red one.

"What are you up to now? You haven't unglued yourself from the TV all night?"

"Watching Backlash," he mumbled.

"Watching what?" she peaked around the corner, her blonde strands of hair also making an appearance.

"Backlash, Liz! It's the new WWF pay-per-view."

"Christ, John," she shook her head. "Let it go already. She wouldn't answer your calls. She left you behind, John. You've moved on… you're working at the gym and we're going to be getting married soon," she smiled, eying the diamond ring on her ring finger. "And I'm sure she has already done the same. It wasn't your fault, John."

_Yeah, _he thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, things are about to get very interesting now, as you're going to see what Jessica's wrestling career becomes and how it affects her every day life, especially when the life-altering event takes place next chapter. **

**Not to mention, we're also going to get more in depth into John's current life.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, I appreciate the following readers:**

**Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, kimberlin, Adrian Jade, nic-002001, dj-ssdd, and PlasticCandy!**

**Please read and review!!!!**

**Danielle **


	10. Chapter 10

Vince McMahon paced back and forth in his office, unsure of what plan to put into action.

On one side, he was ecstatic to find that Jessica had taken the title. On the other hand, the jewel of the Corporation had fallen into the wrong hands.

He reached for the door and entered the hallway, running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair as he made his way towards the black curtain, signaling the sound crew to start playing his music.

His usual strut to the ring was not nearly as proud and boasting as it usually was, his ego bruised by his champion's defeat.

Vince ripped the mic away from the bellman and cleared his throat.

"Tonight, before I make my announcement," he began, but was quickly cut off by a loud chorus of boos. "I SAID," he repeated himself, his voice rising to a dangerous level, "Before I make my announcement tonight, I'd like to call the three other members of the Corporation to the ring."

A few moments passed and finally, Shane McMahon, the Rock, and Jessica McMahon passed through the curtains and down to the ring. The Women's Champ entered first, followed by her brother, and then the recently dethroned champion.

"To begin with," Vince looked towards his daughter, "I'd first like to congratulate Jessica on winning the Women's Championship."

A few boos could be heard, but her win was cheered, for the most part.

"And because of her, three titles, the WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the Women's Championship, were held by the Corporation for a few glorious moments."

The crowd booed and hissed at this notion, only to be silenced, yet again, by the booming voice of Vince McMahon.

"But while Shane retained his title and Jessica won hers, the crown jewel was lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin."

A loud pop came from the crowd, eliciting a scowl from the face of Vincent Kennedy McMahon, as the Rock stood motionless, but attentive a few feet away.

"A champion," Vince continued, "Is supposed to be strong and fierce, cunning and wise, yet would do ANYTHING to protect the gold he… or she… values most."

He turned towards the Rock and smiled.

"And while I have no doubt in my mind, Rock, that you will one day win the title back, you must forgive me for having a backup plan," he smirked.

All of a sudden, the Rock was hit from the side and crashed hard towards the mat. He was pummeled relentlessly by fists and forearms to the point where the crowd disappeared into a creamy blur.

It wasn't until Shane and the mystery man pulled him to his feet, he caught sight of his attacker.

Long hair, goatee, and a sneer on his face.

Triple H.

Jessica stood back, silent and frozen still, as she watched her father leer over at the Rock. Surely, this wasn't because of one title. Her father couldn't possibly expect him to hold the title forever… could he?

If so, would he hold her to the same expectation?

"Like I said, Rock. I need a champion and you're no longer it," he seethed. "You and I had a deal, one which you broke, and now," he strutted over towards the announcer's side of the ring and waved his hand.

Within seconds, a steel chair had been slid underneath the bottom rope and into the ring.

Vince landed a few shots to the Rock's ribs, causing him to fall hard to his knees. Still, Triple H's and Shane's grasp on him remained tight, even after he stomped him twice.

He palmed the chair and smiled wickedly, "This is what happens when you mess with Mr. McMahon.

As he brought up the chair, however, he hesitated and smirked at his former champ.

"You know what?" he laughed sinisterly, "I could swing this at you and do minimal damage, but send you down… OR… we could break you," Vince added and craned his neck towards his daughter, which was then followed by the rest of his body, and then his outstretched, steel-baring hand. "And Jessica could do it on our behalf."

Jessica was overwhelmed by the angry crowd, who had obviously now switched their allegiance from Triple H to the Rock.

She shook her head and waved her hands, one baring a microphone.

"Jessica," he glared at her, "Make him pay."

"Dad," she replied weakly, and Vince cringed at the informality, "I can't."

"You can… and you will!" he responded, advancing towards her. "Jessica Juliette McMahon, I brought you into this world and I sure as HELL can take you out of it!"

"But, Dad…"

"No! Take the damn chair, Jessica!"

"Fine," she yelled back spitefully and ripped the chair from his grip.

The Women's Champion undid her belt and laid it upon the turnbuckle, steel chair still in hand. Then she turned towards the Rock.

In the last year, the Rock had become her one and only friend in the WWF. He had also been the one to convince her father to let her wrestle. If it wasn't for him, she might never have experienced the taste of gold.

But Vince McMahon was her father and she owed him a lot, yet he asked this of her.

How could she possibly do this to the Rock?

Jessica stepped forward, only a few feet before him and raised the mic to her lips, "I'm sorry."

She dropped the microphone and raised the chair high into the air with her right hand, earning jeers from the audience.

Then, Jessica brought the chair down and grabbed onto it with her left hand, as well. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and brought the chair backwards.

The chair then swung through the air… over the head of the Rock and into the face of Shane McMahon.

The crowd went wild as Jessica then landed a shot on Triple H and the Rock was finally let go of. She jabbed the chair into his midsection and then repeated the same move on her brother.

Hearing footsteps coming towards her, Jessica did a 180, only to find that the Rock had intercepted, and rock-bottomed, Triple H.

Triple H rolled out of the ring and Shane was pulled out by her father, who glared at her as he backed up the ramp, a maniacal stare in his eyes.

The Rock walked over to Jessica, an incredulous look on his face, and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, pulling her sideways into his chest. After he released her, he grabbed onto her wrist and raised her hand high into the air, as she dropped the chair to the mat with a loud thud.

They then parted ways to opposite turnbuckles and the Rock raised his arms to his people, while Jessica lifted her title above her head, as Raw went off the air.

The simple answer was… she couldn't.

* * *

Jessica's title reign lasted another month, until Vince made her run the gauntlet, which saw interference from her sister and cost her the title.

Within a few weeks, however, Jessica McMahon had become one of the most popular superstars, let alone female superstars, in the history of the World Wrestling Federation. Even though she was close with the Rock, she also often associated herself with the Hardy Boys, Lita, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had apparently forgiven her stunt a year back and even grown to respect her.

She was anti-authority, rebellious, and a daredevil, the anti-quintessential McMahon. No woman had even done some of the things that Jessica had. Corkscrew 450's, standing shooting star presses, and inverted STF's were just a few of the tricks that she had up her sleeve.

But that was purely on-screen. Off of WWF television, Jessica had found success, as well. Despite her better judgment, she had begun to date a fellow wrestler.

Jessica's philosophy was that relationships and business should never mix and should always be kept separate. That notion, however, didn't last too long. When she found neon pink and orange flowers in her room, Jessica couldn't help but say yes to Jeff Hardy. Plus, for the first time in a while, she was happy.

Her and her mother were still as close as ever, her and her father were still mending old wounds, Shane was still her favorite family member, and Stephanie was still a bitch, but was slowly coming around.

She still kept in touch with her other family, though. John Sr. was still living in the family house where Sean, Matt, and Dan still lived. Dan was attending the Peabody Police Academy and Steve had recently gotten a job with the Boston Police Department. Carol was no longer living with her sister, of course, and had gotten a small apartment in the neighboring town of Merrimac.

Diana McMahon was still living in the yellow house with forest green shutters. The garden had expanded in the last year or so and Diana was staying busy, keeping up with her garden and watching her granddaughter wrestle.

The last Jessica had heard of John Cena, he had taken a job at a local gym after being fired from his job as a chauffer. It didn't really surprise her; the kid could never give directions. Her last update had come from Carol, who had said that he and Liz had also gotten engaged over Christmas.

She couldn't really feel anything when it came to the news. She wasn't entirely sure what she should feel. Jessica just wanted him to be happy, even after everything that had occurred.

It was eight o'clock on a Tuesday morning when Jessica awoke to find a letter from Jeff had been slipped underneath her door.

_Jess-_

_I'm sorry I had to fly out like that on Saturday, but I've got something special planned for us tonight. _

_Wear that purple dress of yours!_

_-Jeff_

Jessica couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend's note. Jeff had always said that he'd liked that dress because it matched her hair, even though they argued over whether the dress was technically purple or pink, and apparently, he was still convinced the answer was purple.

Since becoming the Women's Champ and leaving the Corporation, she'd dyed the bottom tips of her hair, about three inches from the end, from blonde to fuchsia. It had fit as a part of her rebellious character, but she had to admit that she did like it. A little anti-authoritative piece of her always wanted to do something like that, but it never really fit her personality in high school. A valedictorian with fire-engine red hair would certainly not have gone over well in West Newbury.

But her mind continued to drift back to the beginning of the week.

On Saturday night, his cousin had given birth to twins and he had promised to fly out immediately and visit. She took a plane from Texas to Boston and Jeff took one from Texas to Raleigh, but said he'd come see her when he flew in for the next show. She guessed he'd flown in early.

Her apartment in Boston was absolutely perfect for her. There was a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and two bedrooms, both of which had a bathroom.

She sat down at her kitchen table with her newly-filled bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and twirled her spoon around in her fingers. Leisurely, Jessica flipped open her newspaper and turned the pages.

"Ugh!" she frowned in disgust. "I'd love to see Boston actually beat the Yankees once in my lifetime!"

After bringing the last of her Cheerios to her mouth, the spoon fell into her white dish with a loud clank.

Just as she placed her bowl and spoon in the sink, the phone rang.

She moved to answer it, her fuchsia-tipped, bright blonde hair swaying behind her.

"Hello?"

* * *

"Jessica…" Jeff cooed into the silent apartment as he slowly closed the door behind him.

He'd been looking forward to this day all weekend. Sure, the newest members of the Hardy family were adorable, but he missed being with his girlfriend.

The last girlfriend he'd been with lived back in North Carolina and it was hard enough to get home, let alone home to see her. Seeing Jess was easy, though, and time spent with her was never few or far-between.

"Jess…" he called again to the quiet apartment, half-expecting to find her sleeping.

As he approached her bedroom door, however, he heard what sounded like stifled noises as his daisies-holding right hand opened her door.

The white door easily gave way to the pressure of his hand and the flowers in Jeff's hand slipped through his fingers and fell onto the light blue carpet.

"Jesus Christ, Jess," he sighed concernedly as he looked her over.

She was huddled in the corner of her room by the window, still clutching the cordless phone to her chest. Her fuchsia dipped tresses were matted to her face by tears and heavy sobs racked her body.

"What happened?" Jess put a hand on her shoulder.

"She… she… she…" she hiccupped, trying to breathe as she continued to cry.

"Who, Jess?" he continued asking, pulling her to his chest.

"She's gone," Jessica managed to choke out.

"Who's gone, Jessica? You need to tell me… please," Jeff plead with his girlfriend.

For nearly an entire minute, Jessica sat there, her eyes glazed over by tears threatening to fall.

"Grandma," her head dropped even lower as the teardrops scraped away at her porcelain skin. "Grandma's gone."

* * *

**A/N: So that was the big event, my friends. I hope that it met your expectations.**

**It's going to be a little difficult for me to write without Diana in the story, as she was always the levelheaded one who brought Jessica back to her senses in the end.**

**But what you may not realize is that this is going to affect Jessica more than just losing her, it's going to lead to another event in the next chapter.**

**And for all of you who were wondering where John went... don't worry, he'll reappear... with a BANG.**

**I know that was screwed up as of late, so I'll excuse the lack of reviewing, however, I still recognize:**

**writethisdown4you (LAUREN!!!), Adrian Jade, dj-ssdd, and PlasticCandy.**

**This chapter is for all of you!**

** Danielle **


	11. Chapter 11

It was June 11, 2001 when Diana McMahon passed away in her sleep. The doctors had said that it could not be attributed to pre-existing conditions and that it was due to natural causes, but it failed to distract Jessica from the fact that her grandmother was gone.

Diana's funeral was on a sunny Friday morning. Per her request, Jeff would not be attending the service, as she wanted to merely be with her family and friends back in her hometown.

The only regret Jessica had when it came to her now ex-boyfriend was that she had led him on to an extent, only to break things off in the wake of tragedy. Surprisingly, though, Jeff understood that she needed some time to herself and figured that if they were meant to be in a relationship, they'd make their way back to each other eventually.

The first thing she had done, though, when she arrived in West Newbury was taking trip back to the house in which she grew up, which as stated in Diana's will, now belonged to her. It had been hard for her to bare, going back and knowing that she'd never grace the halls again and that Jessica would never walk through the door to the familiar scent of her cookies in the oven. The mere thought of it killed her.

The community would soon be gathering to celebrate the life of one of their most beloved residents. The Cenas, including Carol and Steve, would be coming out for the occasion, as well. Yet nothing could take Jessica's mind off of the fact that Diana McMahon was gone and she was never coming back.

* * *

"John, are you… crying?"

"What?" he replied quickly, snapping shut his wallet and wiping urgently at his face.

"It looks like you've been crying," Liz sat down on the bed next to him and placed her engagement ring clad hand on his leg. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" he trailed off, staring out the window.

"Nothing, huh?" she shook her head. "Who was that on the phone?"

"My dad," John sighed sadly. "Diana McMahon died a few nights ago."

Liz suddenly tensed up, "Wasn't that Jessica's grandmother?"

"Yeah, so?" he turned his gaze toward his fiancée.

"Here we go again…" she rolled her eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. Would you mind telling me why your suitcase is packed with practically everything you own?" Liz gestured to the overstuffed piece of luggage at the foot of their bed.

"Because I'm going up there for the funeral," he replied simply.

"You know, John," she got off of the bed and put her hands on her hips, "Sometimes, you're such a sucker."

"Excuse me?" he shot back angrily. "Could you please repeat that for me? I couldn't hear your words over your bitching."

"You know EXACTLY what I said, Cena," she replied curtly. "And it's true. You ARE a sucker. Every single time something happens to Jessica, you're ready to run back like an abused puppy!"

"Who says I'm going just for her?" he folded his arms over his chest.

"Okay, John, I'll bite…" Liz rolled her eyes noticeably. "Who are you going for?"

"Did you ever think, for one second, that maybe… just maybe, I was going because she was my neighbor for my entire life?" he offered. "Or perhaps because she was like a second mother to me?"

"Or because Jessica will be there?" she miffed at him, mentioning a notion which John had yet to even think about much.

"That's it, isn't it?" he smirked at her.

"Oh… please do fill me in on your little epiphany, John," she mused at him.

"All this time, even after all these years… you've been constantly competing with Jessica," he explained. "Even when she wasn't around."

"Yeah… okay, you caught me," she laughed at him sarcastically.

Ignoring her comment, John continued, "I told her to try and get along with you and she tried, for my sake, but all along…" he trailed off, rubbing his jaw line in marvel. "It was you. You were the one who couldn't get along with my best friend, who made fun of my brothers and ignored my parents' hospitality. You were the reason I made my life this way. You were the reason I bought this," he stated, holding up her left hand and gazing at her engagement ring.

He slid the ring off of her finger and inspected it between his fingertips for a while before pocketing it in his gym shorts.

"And now, Liz," John shook his head at her, fighting off certain consumption by his emotions, "You're the reason I'm taking it back."

John dropped her hand immediately and it smacked into her thigh instantaneously.

Liz watched him carefully, running her shaking fingers through her dark blonde hair, as he scurried about the room, picking up his important items that he hadn't already packed away.

"What are you doing, John?" she tapped her sandal at him.

He placed the last of the items in his gym bag, zipped it up, and slung it over his right shoulder as he picked up the suitcase in his left.

"Something I was too stupid to do a long time ago… leaving," he stared at her bitterly and pushed the door to the bedroom, leaving Liz standing in what used to be the bedroom they shared, only to cringe as the front door slammed shut.

* * *

The sun shone down brightly on the funeral procession as the friends and family of Diana McMahon gathered to say goodbye to the woman they adored for the last time.

Jessica stood before the cherry wood casket and stared at the casing which held her grandmother. For her, it was hard to believe that she was really in there. For a while, she thought that Diana might jump out from behind the gathering, but Jessica knew that wasn't her style. The truth sunk in more than ever as tears began to flow freely from her hazel orbs.

As the priest concluded part of his sermon, he called her forward to present her eulogy.

* * *

It was a little breezy at the cemetery and John was glad that he had worn a suit jacket to the proceedings.

He knew he was a few minutes late to the gravesite, but he didn't want her to know he was there; it would be easier for her. Surely, Diana would have understood.

John leaned against a large tree on his left and watched as the scene unfolded before them. He saw his parents and four brothers, along with Steve's fiancée, sitting in the second row. Before them sat the McMahon family and he assumed that his father was blocking out Jessica, sitting on the aisle beside her brother.

The priest finished his part of the eulogy, dedicated to one of his favorite and most passionate churchgoers, and called upon Jessica on behalf of Diana's family and friends.

She rose to her feet, in the exact place John had assumed she sat, her knee length black dress waving in the light breeze. The five foot, seven inch Jessica McMahon looked substantially taller and he attributed that to her high heels. As he stood there, he watched her carefully and noticed her hair was a bit shorter and her fuchsia tips had vanished. He guessed that she had cut them off for the funeral.

"This is probably the hardest thing I'll have to do in my lifetime," she began, wiping a lone tear from her cheek. "When I arrived in West Newbury in 1985, I didn't know that I would wind up growing up here. For years, I lamented being brought up away from my siblings, but as I stand before you this morning, I realize that I would not have been the person I am today if it wasn't for my grandmother. Diana McMahon was one of the kindest, most caring people I have ever known. She never saw a person's race or religion when she looked at them and despite her obsession with keeping her wooden floors dry," Jessica laughed through her tears and smiled at the thought, "Everyone can agree that she made the best cookies on the planet.

The gathering laughed at this notion and mumbled amongst themselves in agreement.

"But the Diana McMahon I knew behind the green doors and aluminum siding of her house was different than the Diana McMahon that most knew. I was only five years old when my grandfather died and while the few memories I have of him are good ones, I loved hearing her stories about him. Most of my favorite stories would be about our similarities and how we would say and do the same things. She said to me once that I have Grandpa's eyes and shared his passion for life. For a long time, it saddened me that because she married into the family, she and I could never share any traits, but as I thought about what to talk about this morning, over the past couple of days, I realized how wrong I was. While physical similarities may not exist between us, my grandmother and I share a value of honesty and loyalty to those we love and care for the most," Jessica began to tear up again, her voice shaking, and she had to pause to collect herself.

"And that is the imprint my grandmother has left upon me that I will forever bare with grace and gratitude. To Vincent James McMahon, she was a loving wife. To Vince and Linda McMahon, a caring mother and mother-in-law. Too Shane, Stephanie, and Jessica McMahon, a beloved and devoted grandmother. Most importantly, she will always be the woman I model my life after, whose shoes I hope to half fill, and whose shadow I am honored to forever walk in."

After concluding her eulogy, she walked gracefully towards the casket, kissed her fingertips, and gently pressed them upon the wood.

She then made her way down the stairs and looked up for a brief moment, but shook her head and took a seat. Moments later, she found comfort and solace in the arms of her older brother, seated beside Marissa.

After the sermon concluded, the McMahon family took turns shoveling the dirt into the ground as a symbolic goodbye.

Jessica decided she needed some time and space, so she broke away from the pack of mourners and sat underneath a tree by the lake nearby Diana's grave.

Moments later, she felt a hand upon her shoulder.

* * *

To John, Jessica looked more destroyed and depressed as he had ever seen, but her eulogy was absolutely beautiful.

Originally, he had planned to leave without being seen, but now, he wasn't sure. He saw her move away from the gravesite and head towards the lake, yet he decided to follow her. He watched as she sat down and pulled her knees to her chest, nesting her arms and chin upon them.

He decided to take the risk and slowly stepped towards her. While it appeared that she intended to achieve some space, and even though five long years had passed, no one knew Jessica McMahon better than John Cena.

Gently, he placed a hand upon her shoulder.

She turned around and a confused look washed over her tear-stained face.

"John?"

"Yeah," he nodded sheepishly. "Can we go somewhere in private for a little while?"

* * *

John trailed Jessica into the parking facility across the street from the cemetery in complete silence. They finally stopped in front of a car and she turned around to face him.

Jessica couldn't help but feel indifference at the moment and as she leaned against her car, could only eye him suspiciously.

"You still drive that thing?" he asked her, marveling at her Sunfire.

"You came back to West Newbury, to my grandmother's funeral, to ask me about my car?" she replied slowly, her words laced with bitterness.

"I, uh… no," he shook his head. "I came here because we need to talk."

"No," Jessica sneered at him, "You came here because YOU need to talk. I, for one, was done talking five years ago. You remember that, don't you, John? You hung up on me after telling me that you'd rather be with your precious girlfriend than with your separating parents. Oh wait," she corrected herself, "I'm sorry… your FIANCEE."

"Ex-fiancée," he replied, as it was now his turn to do the correcting.

"Well, look at you," she smirked, "You finally wised up to what the wicked bitch of the west was doing all of these years."

"I realized a couple of days ago what she had been doing all along and I know that it took me far too long," John admitted. "But I've been trying, I really have. I'm trying to rebuild my relationship with my parents and my brothers…"

"You call three days trying, John?"

"No, but I can call it a start."

"Well, good for you," Jessica smiled curtly at him. "Would you like a golden star?"

"I would like to tell you that I'm sorry… because I really am sorry, Jessica," he apologized and for a moment, Jessica actually began to feel the sincerity in his voice.

Quickly, though, she pushed it aside.

"Sorry for what, John?" she challenged him, running her hands through her blonde hair. "Sorry for the year I spent crying myself to sleep every night? Or sorry for the fact that I had to spend my entire summer break at your Dad's house, taking care of your brothers while he was at work, because you were off playing house with your girlfriend? You're going to have to be a little bit more specific than that…"

"All of it," he replied simply. "I'm sorry for all of it."

"Oh, why thank you, John Cena," Jessica answered dramatically, "That just erased the last five years of my life and made everything 100 better!"

"What do you want me to say, Jessica?" John asked her in frustration, rubbing his hands over his face.

"How about words that actually mean something to me?" her voice dropped to a slightly softer level, as she looked her former neighbor in the eyes.

"Words that means something?"

"I could have pulled an 'I'm sorry, Jessica' out of a cereal box and it might have meant more to me than that one. What do you really want to say to me, John?" Jessica continued to press him. "I still know you better than anyone else, John, and your eyes are telling me that you want to say more, so say it. Say what you really want to say."

John sighed heavily. The girl still knew him best.

"I was stupid, okay?" he threw his hands up into the air. "I let my best friend go because I fell in love with a girl… a girl who made me believe she was something that she was not and a girl I was stupid to think I could spend my life with."

For the first time in the conversation, Jessica didn't have a comeback or a one-lined putdown. Now she was silent and it finally appeared as though Jessica was listening.

"I never understood the consequences of my actions, Jess," John admitted sadly, "Not until now, anyway. It's time for me to rebuild what I destroyed, try to start something new. I'm moving to California. I sold Liz's engagement ring to get the money for a new place and now I'm definitely going. I'm going to train to be a wrestler."

Jessica couldn't resist as a smile crept across her face, taunting John, "I already am."

"I know, I saw your debut. I saw Backlash. I've seen every show you've been on," John nodded. "I saw you win that title and I saw you lose it."

"Yeah, well so did she," Jessica sniped back at him, tilting her head in the direction of the cemetery, "And she was there for me every single day since I first moved here. What's your excuse?"

"I don't have one."

She shook her head at him and wiped a tear away from her cheek in frustration, "You never could give a good excuse, could you, John?"

"Why should I try to start now?" he shrugged honestly and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"It's just because you can't think of any good ones," Jessica assured him, as she pulled open the door of her car and slid inside, turning on the ignition. "But I can."

Moments later, the car roared to life and she pulled out of the parking spot, aligning her door parallel to John's body.

"Yeah, McMahon?" he tilted his head upwards at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah," she arched an eyebrow at him in defiance. "You were thinking with the wrong head."

He opened his mouth to speak, but lost the chance as Jessica's car sped out of the parking lot and left a half-smiling John Cena in its wake.

Where she was headed, he couldn't be sure, but he was sure of one thing:

He still brought out the best in her.

* * *

**A/N: This was the big chapter... it's such a huge turning point in my opinion and it's taken me about three weeks to get it perfect.**

**I'll let you in on a little secret, since you all have been so loyal and wonderful when it came to reviews: when I originally began writing this chapter, it concluded with John and Jessica burying the hatchet and starting over. But after re-reading what I had written on the overnight ferry from Italy to Greece, I realized that Jessica would never let him get away with abandoning his parents in their time of need. She'd never go down without a fight and by allowing her to just shrug it off, I'd be doing a disservice to her character. Not to mention, it was a fun scene to write. ;-)**

**The next chapter is going to be a WWF/E TV exclusive and jump forward again, a little bit... but with a minor surprise added in. Alright, it's a major surprise.**

**Shout out time: writethisdown4you, xXMckenzieXx, PlasticCandy, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, and dj-ssdd!**

**You all rock.**

**I have a feeling though, after this chapter, the readers might just come out of the shadows and let me know what they think by reviewing... please?**

** Danielle **


	12. Chapter 12

A knock on the door resonated through the dressing room, causing the Rock to look up from his steel chair, which he was seated on backwards.

"Door's open," he called out to the visitor.

The iron door opened and Jessica McMahon's blonde tresses and tanned face, covered by her equally bronzed fingers over her eyes, peered around it.

"Jess," he chuckled. "You can come in, I'm fully clothed."

Her black-tipped hair bobbed up and down as she nodded, uncovered her eyes, and shut the door behind her.

"What's up?" the Rock asked, pushing himself up off of his chair.

If there was one thing that the Rock knew, it was how Jessica's eyes gave her away. Although they were hazel, the green and gold flecks in them often described her mood. The more gold there was, the more sadness or worry she possessed. The more green was present, the happier she was.

The Rock eyed her carefully.

_Gold._

"What's wrong, Jess?" he asked her.

She looked down at the carpet and stayed silent.

"Look at me," he requested softly, placing two fingers under her chin and tilting it upwards. "What's wrong?"

"What if I can't do it?" she looked at him with watery eyes.

"You will."

"But what if I-"

"No what if's," he cut her off. "You're Jessica McMahon! You're the former Women's Champion! And tonight, you will be again."

"Thanks," Jessica smiled at him. "You know me too well."

"That's what happens when you spend too much time with a person," he replied. "They get to know you. And believe the Rock when he says that he knows Jessica McMahon very well."

She couldn't help but laugh at him sometimes.

"Oh, I do," she chuckled. "I do."

* * *

"I'm Mean Gene Okerland and I'm here with the Rock. Rock," he turned and addressed the People's Champion, "I'd like to hear your take on two matches tonight on Smackdown." 

"The Rock is listening, Mean Gene," he replied cockily.

"Well, tonight, Jessica McMahon will take on Chyna for the title in what some are calling a Clash of the Titans," Gene proceeded to inform the Rock. "The ninth wonder of the world towers at nearly six feet tall, boasting around 200 pounds of pure muscle. Jessica McMahon is five feet, seven inches and is clearly outweighed at nearly 135 pounds."

"The Rock would like to know exactly what your point is, Okerland."

"My point is, Rock, that Jessica McMahon is certainly outsized in this match…"

"Let me tell you something, Mean Gene Okerland," the Rock began, riling himself up, "Jessica might be shorter, not to mention lighter, but she is just as strong as Chyna is. And I promise you this," he added, staring directly into the camera, "Jessica might be outsized in height and weight, but she is certainly not outsized in heart."

The chords of "Celebrity Skin" were slowly diminishing as Jessica stood atop the bottom turnbuckle and in all honesty, she couldn't care less. She looked out into the crowd, missing the ability to see her grandmother's face amongst the sea of people there to watch her.

For a moment, she stared at the red ropes, adjoined at the trapezoidal black padding, and then pointed up to the sky, as her gaze followed.

Slowly, she mouthed the words 'I love you' into the silence left by her long-faded music and the constant cheering of the crowd.

She hopped off of the turnbuckle and inhaled deeply, just in time for the opening sounds of "Who I Am" to course through the airwaves.

If there was ever to be a greater moment in her life, she could not have been dealt a larger challenge in Chyna.

The woman was almost six feet tall in her wrestling boots and had a good 60 pounds on her, at least, but the adrenaline was coursing through her veins. There would be no better tribute to her grandmother than to overcome the odds in her memory.

The bell was rung and the two women met in the center of the ring. They locked up and Chyna quickly got a headlock on Jessica. She pushed back into the ropes and forced Chyna into the opposite side of the ring, but she dodged her attempt at her clothesline and ricocheted again off the other side. As she came back for a dropkick, the current champion held on to the ropes as Jessica flew face first into the mat, but not even that could stop her. She laid on her stomach as Chyna hopped over her for a leg drop, but rolled away just in time for her to miss. Quickly, she ran and flipped over Chyna's head, pulling her head forward with her. Both women, however, quickly returned to their feet.

This was going to be a lot more difficult than either woman had anticipated.

Jessica lifted her right hand in the air to propose a strength test, but as her opponent lifted her hand to participate, she grabbed a hold of her wrist and wrenched her arm behind her back. She then slid her hands around her broad shoulders, into a full nelson, and slammed her down harshly into the mat.

But Chyna, not to be outdone, got to her feet almost immediately, laughing at her opponent's feeble attempt at domination. She kicked her foot right into Jessica's midsection and scoop slammed her onto the mat. Grabbing onto her hair, she pulled her to her feet and reached down to press her over her body. Once again, she tossed Jessica aside like a ragdoll, allowing her to land with a loud thud, yet again.

The Women's Champion was done messing around and decided that it was time to go in for the kill. She positioned Jessica's legs on either side of her head and pulled her vertical. However, Jessica would not allow her to bend her upper body to a ninety degree angle for the Jackknife Powerbomb. It was only then that she realized Chyna's mistake.

Jessica shifted all of her weight to the nearby ropes and flailed around violently as she locked her legs around her opponent's neck. Finally at the ropes, she lowered her body onto the other side and grabbed a hold of Chyna's ankles, stretching her into a Tarantula. When the ref's counted ended, she hurricarana-ed her to the ground and tried to pin her.

1-2- kickout.

As Jessica got to her feet, Chyna grabbed onto her ankle and tripped her down. Regaining control of the match, the Ninth Wonder of the World stood tall over her challenger. She pulled her to her feet again by her hair and locked her into a suplex. Then another one. And then another one.

1-2- kickout.

The clearly dazed McMahon stumbled to her feet weakly as Chyna stalked her for a spear. Like a lion hunting its prey, she charged forward, but was sent into the ring post as Jessica sidestepped her attack.

The Women's Champion laid on the floor, writhing in pain and clutching her shoulder.

The youngest McMahon eyed her opponent for a brief second and then inhaled deeply as she stepped towards her. She stood directly in front of her and then in one swoop, lifted her feet off the ground and performed a Standing Shooting Star Press directly onto Chyna's prone body.

But that was not enough insurance for Jessica; something else had to be done, something drastic. And in that moment, if finally hit her.

As she lay face down, she slid the champion's calves onto her shoulders and grabbed onto her forearms as they spread out like wings from her body. Using every ounce of strength left in her weakened body, she pulled Chyna off the ground and slammed her back down to the mat, falling down to the canvas with her.

She crawled on her hands. She crawled on her knees. She crawled to the gold that was rightfully hers and that she deserved, that her grandmother deserved in her memory.

Her rubber-like arm finally draped over the other woman's body.

1-2-3.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Lillian Garcia announced loudly into her microphone, "Your new Women's Champion, Jessica McMahon!"

"Wow, J.R., did you see that?!?" the Jerry Lawler marveled at the finish of the match.

"Yes I did, King, and let me just say that I don't think anyone has ever seen Chyna dominated in such a way. I've just been informed that the move we just witnessed is called the Ground Zero," J.R. added into his own headset. "It looks like in the WWF's very own Clash of the Titans, it is Jessica McMahon, one, and Chyna, zero."

But as the ringside announcers sung her praises, all Jessica could do was fall to her knees as the referee handed her the belt that was now rightfully hers. She clutched it to her chest and tightened her closed eyes, the tears dropping from her face to the canvas below.

* * *

"You did what?!?" Vince McMahon seethed into the microphone as his two eldest children stood before him. 

"That's right, Dad," Stephanie replied shrilly into her own mic. "Shane and I bought WCW and ECW and, together, have formed ECWCW… our own brand and we plan on taking you down."

"So, you're telling me that you sold me down the river, you sold your blood just to try and bring me down?" he asked his former golden children, his face quickly turning red.

"No, Dad," Shane laughed at his father. "We bought ECW and WCW to bring you down… not to try. We WILL bring you down."

_Oh make me over. I'm all I want to be. A walking study… in demonology._

The crowd went ballistic as Jessica McMahon strutted down to the ring, a smirk across her face.

And by the looks of her, it could only mean one thing: hell was about to be raised.

She stepped up the metal stairs and ducked into the ring, her own microphone in hand.

"When I talked about selling your blood down the river, Jessica," Vince said through gritted teeth, "It wasn't an invitation for you to join the party."

"Oh, Daddy," she laughed at his comment, "How you underestimate me. I didn't come down here to add to the fun, although, I can see that this is turning out to be quite the party."

"Look, Jessica," Shane warned his little sister, "This is a meeting between corporate owners and you don't exactly belong here."

"Sorry, Shane," she replied sarcastically. "I guess I forgot that I don't belong here. But in all seriousness, Dad," Jessica turned to her father, "Aren't you asking the question?"

"What question, Jessica?" he turned his angry stare towards his daughter.

"The one that pertains to the ownership of this company."

"I AM the owner and chairman of the World Wrestling Federation, Jessica," Vince assured her, losing his patience. "And if you're done here, I'd like to get back to talking to the owners of ECWCW because as Chairman, I think it is my duty, as the sole owner of the WWF, to warn them that if they step into the ring with the big boys…"

"Actually, Dad," Shane interred once again, "Stephanie and I sold our shares in the company to anonymous buyers, meaning that our ½ of the company, along with the ¼ of the company that belonged to Mom and has been in our trust for the past few months, now belong to various buyers. You're outnumbered, Dad."

Vince allowed a complete and total anger to rush through his body as he roughly ran his hands through his salt and pepper hair.

His baby, his pride and joy… was no longer run by the very blood that had created it. The WWF was no longer in his control.

"Well," Jessica shrugged, "I see that I don't belong in the ring with these corporate big boys."

She moved back to the turnbuckle, where the steps lay, but then turned around to face her father.

"But, Dad, you might want to change that to corporate big boys and girls."

"Oh, not you too, Jess," her father rolled his eyes. "I thought Right to Censor was bad enough, always needing us to use equal opportunity terminology."

"No, Dad. I think you should get used to the word," Jessica assured him, a twisted smile on her face. "I really do."

"And why is that?" he arched an eyebrow at his youngest child.

"Because as of this morning," she replied, fishing out of the back pocket of her jeans a folded up packet of paper and tossing it to her father, "I own three quarters of the World Wrestling Federation and am therefore the majority owner. Get used to having me around again, Dad, because this time… I'm not going anywhere."

Jessica turned on her heels and left the ring, leaving a completely dumbstruck Vince McMahon, an angry Stephanie and Shane McMahon, and a wild crowd behind her.

* * *

"You're sure you're ready for this, Jess?" 

"For the last time, Rocky," Jessica sighed in exasperation, "I am ready."

It had been four months since she'd become majority owner in July and five months since she'd become the Women's Champion.

Her match was first of tonight's pay-per-view, Survivor Series, as the Women's Champion of ECWCW, Jazz, along with various Divas, would take part in a melee of sorts for the unification of the title, in efforts to determine a true champion.

Her victory would lead the World Wrestling Federation into the battle, heads held high with one win already under its belt. It could provide the momentum that Team WWF, lead by the Rock, needed heading into the final match of Survivor Series, in which they'd face Team WCW, led by Stone Cold Steve Austin, to see who would wind up as the owners of the company and which company would survive.

"I have a better question for YOU," she added. "Are YOU ready, Rock? The company is resting on your shoulders."

"The Rock never backs down from a challenge, Jessica," he replied sternly, never more sure of himself. "And the Rock will never, ever let you down."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Howard Finkel announced as the ref took both the WCW Women's Title and the WWF Women's Title and brought them to the center of the ring. "Your first true Women's Champion, the WWF's own… JESSICA MCMAHON!" 

The referee handed Jessica both belts and she raised them up in the air.

She had done her part. She had secured her place in one of the companies, securing the belt in the name of the WWF, and now, the rest was up to Team WWF.

* * *

The fans screamed louder and louder as Kurt Angle was forced to tap out to the Rock's sharpshooter and was forced out of the ring. As the Rock watched Angle roll out under the ropes, he smirked at his retreating form. 

He then turned his head and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a young woman standing at the foot of the ring with loosely curled blonde hair and black tips, dressed in a tight black camisole and jeans, a title belt wrapped around her waist. The Rock couldn't help but smile at her as she stood there and Jessica returned it with a wave.

No matter what he did or what he said, Jessica McMahon had always been there. After losing the title to Stone Cold Steve Austin, there was a time he wasn't sure that he'd be able to get it back. If it hadn't been for her, he might never have even tried.

He owed her at least this much, the company she had sacrificed her body for every night, the one that she had purchased the majority of in order to preserve the legacy she held so dear, the legacy that ran through her veins. He owed her one last win.

A three count on the mat caught The Rock's attention as he shifted his gaze away from the youngest McMahon to the other side of the ring, where Steve Austin had just pinned Chris Jericho.

Now, it was just the two of them. It was Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Texas Rattlesnake, the Captain of Team Alliance, and The Rock, the People's Champion, the Captain of Team WWF.

Everything hinged on this single match, one company would survive and one company would fall, an entire roster would lose their livelihoods, and another's would be secure on this night.

The two men went right for each other and traded punches. The Rock threw a right, Stone Cold threw a left. Stone Cold threw a right, the Rock threw a left. Stone Cold hit the ropes and came back to be dropped right to the mat, but as the Rock stepped back for a moment, Chris Jericho grabbed him and slammed him face first into the mat.

A visible scowl crossed the face of his boss, Jessica McMahon, and she stepped behind the apron of the ring as he towered tauntingly over the Rock from outside the ropes. He dropped down to the bottom and turned around, coming face to face with his clearly livid boss.

"You son of a bitch," Jessica narrowed her eyes at him. "Go to the back and pray that you didn't just cost yourself your job."

"Oh, I think I didn't," Jericho laughed at her. "You see… either way, I'll be gainfully employed. If the WWF wins, my contract is still valid. If the Alliance wins, guess who it's all thanks to now?"

"Like I said before, Jericho," she replied angrily, "Go backstage, join your Alliance buddies, and pray that you didn't just cost yourself your job… because you're fired!"

She watched as a still cocky Chris Jericho backed up the ramp as Austin and the Rock laid still in the ring.

Turning around, she noticed Stone Cold was struggling to his feet. He got to his knees, crawling towards the Rock's worn out body, and slung an arm across his body to hook his right leg.

1-2- kickout… by a millisecond.

Jericho, clearly frustrated by this turn of events, made his way down to the ring, but the Undertaker ran out and stopped him dead in his tracks, forcing him back up the ramp.

The crowd chanted "Rocky, Rocky, Rocky," and silently, Jessica hoped it would be enough. She'd put all of her faith in the Rock years ago and she wasn't about to desert him now.

Austin rolled him over onto his back and kept his body up as he slammed right hands into him repeatedly.

One stomp. Two stomps. Three stomps. Four stomps.

He turned his attention cockily to the crowd and gave the Rock some time to recover. The WWF Captain stumbled to his feet as fought back, but his efforts were no match for Austin's throw over the rope as he tumbled into the announcing table, his knee connecting with the table.

They battled around the ring, heads slamming off of tables and ring posts, shoulders being slammed into the harsh, metal stairs, bodies being thrown around like rag dolls into chairs.

Finally, they made their way into the ring and they continued to trade fists inside the ring. Austin was caught up in the ropes and the Rock landed some chops onto the Texas Rattlesnake, but as he sent him into the ropes yet again, Austin answered back with a powerslam back into the mat.

A smirk crossed the face of Stone Cold as he contorted the Rock's body into the sharpshooter, adding insult to injury as he was attempting to force the Rock to tap, thereby winning the company for Stephanie and Shane, with his own signature hold.

But the Rock would not allow his hand to tap to the canvas as he scraped and crawled to the black ropes. He continued to shake off the ref and made a final dive at the ropes, forcing a broken hold.

Austin rolled out of and into the ring again, the WCW Championship Belt now in his grasps, but as he aimed for the Rock, he ducked and took Austin down instead.

He locked in the sharpshooter, attempting to cage the wild Rattlesnake, but he grabbed the ropes. Seeing this, the WWF Captain pulled him back into the center of the ring, yet it was broken up again.

He moved back towards Austin, but was met with a low blow. Stone Cold turned and tried to give the Rock a Stunner, but was met with a Stunner of his own.

The two men now lay in the center of the ring, Austin bleeding from the mouth, the Rock clutching his aching ribs. He rolled around the ring for a while, but he slung an arm over the body of Stone Cold.

1-2-…

The count was interrupted by Nick Patrick, pulling the WWF referee out of the ring. The Rock stood up to confront the Alliance's own ref, but was met with a finisher that was quite familiar to him: the Rock Bottom.

Austin hooked his leg and just as Patrick was about to count to three, his shoulder popped off the canvas.

Clearly not satisfied with the end result, Stone Cold kicked him out of the ring and pulled back in the WWF's man. He was up for all of fifteen seconds when the Rock sent Austin right into him.

The men traded attempts at their respective finishers.

Stunner…

Blocked.

Rock Bottom…

Blocked.

Finally, a Stunner was landed on the People's Champion and Austin crawled over again to the Rock, but there was no referee.

Austin had knocked out Earl Hebner.

He stood over the pinstripe clad man, trying to shake him awake to end the legacy of the Rock, to end the legacy of Vince and Jessica McMahon.

No one in the ring seemed to notice Kurt Angle running down the steps with a title belt in his hand, one that everyone else thought was meant for the Rock.

As he raised the title and struck the face of one of the men, it became clear that it was now meant for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Austin stumbled backwards… and right into a Rock Bottom.

The Rock wasted no time pinning him to the mat and hooking his tattooed leg.

Slowly, Hebner clawed towards the two men and raised his hand weakly.

1.

2.

3.

The crowd went crazy, screaming and cheering, as the fate of both companies was sealed and ECWCW was no more.

_If you smell… what the Rock… is cookin'._

The Rock's theme music blared over the speakers, but was barely audible over the cheers of the fans.

On the Titantron, the WWF wrestlers yelled and hugged, the Alliance wrestlers stared at the monitor before them in disbelief as Stephanie McMahon screamed shrilly and cried.

The Rock stumbled to his feet, grabbing the title belt beside him and stared out, breathless, into the crowd. He grabbed a hold of the turnbuckle… and rose up in the corner. Systematically, he climbed each one and raised his belt into the air.

Finally, he reached the fourth one, his corner throughout the match, and looked out into the crowd.

He looked out to the Titantron and saw Vince standing atop the ramp, his hands raised as he celebrated in his own way. He threw his jacket to the ground and smiled, as the WWF, his baby, still breathed.

The Rock eyed his rival, one of his two bosses, and couldn't help but marvel at the man. There they were, still mortal enemies, only united for a brief time by one common goal, but now… the goal was accomplished and they were back to despising one another.

The Great One turned his attention back to the crowd and climbed another corner once again, lifting the title belt high above his head this time.

As he looked out, he caught sight of Jessica McMahon, still standing by the steel steps in front of his corner for the night, applauding.

Even if he had lost tonight, he knew she'd still be standing in his corner, cheering him on, like she did during all of the other times he was defeated. Through thick and thin, she'd been there. She'd even turned on her own family for him, shaking the image the McMahons had worked so hard to build upon her. She'd given up a perfect life to protect him and maybe someday, he'd be able to repay her for that, and while preserving the World Wrestling Federation was a start, it'd never be enough.

He smiled out at the crowd again, providing a knowing grin that only he was capable of. The Rock hopped off of the turnbuckle, ducked between the middle and top ropes, and jumped off of the mat, walking towards her.

Jessica grinned brightly at him, flashing a pearly smile of her own, and began to speak, "Thank y-"

But she was cut off as the Rock placed his strong, bronzed hands on either side of her head and pressed his lips against her own, as the loud voices of the crowd began to drown out in the distance.

* * *

**A/N: There it is... the latest installment in the She's a Rebel saga that is the life of Jessica McMahon. This chapter is the longest in length and took me the longest to write, but I attribute that to the wrestling match that I wrote out as I watched the video of it. If you watch the Team WWF vs. Team Alliance match from Survivor Series 2001, from Kurt Angle's elimination, you'll see how similar it is to my description. If you're wondering how it really went down, look for it on or message me about it and I'll give you a link. It's an awesome match!**

**On a different note, there is, sadly, no John Cena in this one, but remember... he's a huge part of the story and will be appearing again shortly. Calm down, Chain Gang:-D**

**Also, I appreciate the new reviewers and I hope that everyone is enjoying the story. In the next review, if you do not mind, I'd like you to please answer the following questions that have been plaguing me thus far:**

**1 - Is Celebrity Skin by Hole a good theme for Jessica... right now? (It will change soon, though.)**

**2 - What do you think of the Rock/Jessica McMahon pairing?**

**3 - Can you imagine John Cena, as I have personified him, in real life?**

**4 - How are my personifications of other wrestlers/WW(F/E) Superstars/Cenas?**

**5 - Would you like to see me post (elsewhere of course) lifelike articles/merchandise designs on/of Jessica McMahon in the future?**

**6 - What did you think of the chapter?**

**I'm sorry to be demanding, but I'd figure I'd give you guys maybe a question or two at the end of the chapter every now and then just to see how I'm doing. Plus, the better the answers, the better the mood I'm in, the more help I can get in pleasing you readers, and the faster the chapters are up!**

**And the reason for this ultra-long and quick update is because of the record breaking number of reviews I recieved last chapter!**

**I appreciate (constantly): writethisdown4you, Plastic Candy, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, dj-ssdd, nic-002001, lil-miss-wrestling-fan, xXMckenzieXx, The billion dollar bitch, and ginny-potter-07! **

**Rock on, keep reading, and most importantly, keep reviewing!**

**Danielle **


	13. Chapter 13

"I don't know, Dwayne," Jessica sighed and hopped onto the corner of her L-shaped kitchen counter, grabbing a cookie from the jar beside her.

"What's there to know, Jess?" the man, also known inside the ring as the Rock, asked her, slicing up the cucumber on the kitchen island, his back to her.

"Whether I go to the wedding or not," she reminded him with a half-chuckle, before taking a bite of her chocolate chip cookie.

"First of all," he began, placing his knife down on the wooden cutting board and reaching into the fruit bowl ahead of him, before tossing an apple over his head to her, "Apples are healthier than cookies."

"Yes, Dad," she rolled her eyes at him and took a spiteful chunk out of her apple.

"Second of all, you said it was his brother, right?"

"Mhmm," Jessica replied over the rhythmic chopping he had resumed.

"Well then, I don't see where there's a decision," Dwayne shrugged.

"It's not like John's going to skip out on his brother's wedding, Dwayne," Jessica said before taking another bite of her apple.

"Look, Jess," he ceased his chopping and turned around to lean on the edge of the counter, "You grew up in this town and you live next door to his parents. Sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with him. And quite frankly, it might as well be on your own terms."

"I guess you're right," she shrugged and took another bite of her apple.

"Oh, come on, Jess," he laughed at her. "You know that the Rock is always right."

"But you're not the Rock, you're Dwayne Johnson, my best friend, and you are therefore, transitively, NOT always right," she corrected him.

"There you go again, using that college degree of yours again."

"Hey, I'm a wrestler. I've got to use it some time, so shut up!" she laughed and threw a cherry tomato at him, which he caught in his mouth and wiggled his eyebrows, a grin plastered on his face. "And apparently, you're not only a gifted wrestler, but a human vacuum, as well."

"But I am a good looking vacuum."

"Maybe in your own mind…"

"Shut your mouth, McMahon, you know it just as much as I do."

"Well, there you go again," Jessica laughed. "Confusing yourself with the Rock. How many times do I have to tell you…?"

"I know, I know, but come on," he cracked a smile at his friend, "Don't I at least bare _some_ resemblance to the Rock?"

Dwayne stood tall and tilted his chin upwards a little bit as Jessica eyed him carefully.

"Maybe," she admitted, "A little bit in the eyebrows, but that's about it."

* * *

Jessica sat in the bright room of the reception hall at her nearly empty table. The table had consisted of Steve's best friend, Eric, his wife, Jamie's best friend, Julie, Carol, John Sr., Sean, Dan, Matt, and herself, but now, everyone was up on the dance floor and Jessica was indulging in a glass of champagne.

She silently chuckled to herself, knowing that if Dwayne was there, he'd have gotten her a glass of water and told her it was less calories. While "a guest" was invited, Jessica knew she had no one to bring, but didn't understand why they did.

_Unless they really think…_

"Jessica Juliette McMahon!" a male voice called to her from the edge of the dance floor. "Get your sorry ass out here!"

"Nah, Steve," she waved him off and held up her glass of champagne, "I'm good."

"Jess…" his new wife, and Jessica's good friend, Jamie, whined, "Come on. Please…."

Suddenly, the DJ slowed down his set with the Spice Girls' "Goodbye" and Jessica could only stare at the painfully white linen table cloth before her and pick at a nonexistent thread on her royal blue dress.

Before she knew it, Jamie had grabbed onto her hand a pulled her to the dance floor.

"What are you doing?" Jessica asked her, nearly stumbling in her equally blue high heeled shoes as she reached the hardwood of the floor.

"Getting you to dance," Steve answered, holding on to another person's arm. "And look who showed up late to the reception…"

"Oh hell no!" she protested as she took a look at who it was he was clutching.

"Come on, Jess," Jamie continued to beg her, nudging her forward.

"For old time's sake," Steve added, still attempting to coerce her into relenting.

"If you wanted something for old time's sake, Steve, I would have brought you a pink mitten," she mused sarcastically.

"Please, Jessica," Jamie plead with her softly, "If for no other reason, than for my wedding."

She was not going to do this; she was not going to give in. She had made it this long and she was not about to relent. She was not going to give it this time.

"Oh, alright," she sighed heavily.

So much for not giving in.

"Thank you," her friend mouthed in return and went off to dance with her husband in the middle of the floor.

"Hi," he managed to say, staring slightly at his feet.

"Hello," she replied coldly and approached his body awkwardly.

He extended his hand for her to take and hesitantly, she grasped it, as he placed his other one on her waist.

"You look beautiful, Jessica."

"For once, you have a line that applies to the occasion, John," she retorted.

"I mean it," John assured her, his piercing blue eyes catching hers. "I like what you've done with your hair, better than when it was pink… not that it wasn't nice when it was pink or anything…"

If her mind would have let her, she might have cracked a smile at his efforts not to anger her. He really was trying this time.

She held his gaze as they swayed lightly to the music.

"Um… thank you," she replied with a lighter tone. "I think."

So…" John trailed off, trying to keep the conversation running. "I would have assumed that I wouldn't have been able to dance with you today. I figured that there'd be another guy in the picture."

"You figured wrong," she replied simply, trying to keep her cool.

"But what about…"

"About the Rock?" she arched an eyebrow at him. "Or about Dwayne?"

"I don't get it," he shook his head at her. "Aren't they the same person?"

"Not at all," she pursed her lips at the notion. "The Rock is brash and cocky, but adored. He's a fierce competitor and he's the People's Champion, not to mention is head over boots for Jessica McMahon, but Dwayne Johnson is different. Dwayne is kind and caring, level-headed and a gentleman. He's the type of guy that any girl would be lucky to have, but he is my best friend… and nothing more."

"So you're not…"

"Together?" Jessica finished his statement for him. "No, not at all. Come on, John. You know that not everything in wrestling is real… you're training to be a wrestler, no?"

"I found what I love to do and someday, I'm going to be raising some hell in the World Wrestling Federation, but for now, I've taken a job at a gym down there to make ends meet.

"Sometimes, I guess you just have to start from the ground up again."

"I wish you'd follow your own advice, Jessica," John replied softly as the music subsided.

"There you go again," she dropped his hand and backed away from him, "Trying to pin this on me again."

"No, Jess," he called after her as she retreated from the floor, "I'm not… damn it!"

Jessica's blue gown waved behind her as he saw her form escape through the glass doors of the reception hallway.

"You're just going to stand there, John? Let her leave without a fight… again?" Steve asked him, stepping beside his younger brother.

But Steve received no formal answer as John headed for the doors, as well.

* * *

"Jessica!" John called after her again. "Jessica, I'm not trying to pin this on you!"

"Please," she shook her head at him, staring at him out of the elevator, "Please just leave me alone, John."

He watched as the gilded doors of the elevator began to slide shut, "I… I'm sorry."

"I know," she nodded as the doors slid further closed.

"No," he replied with determination as he stopped the doors with his right hand. "No, you don't."

"God, John," Jessica sighed in exasperation, "What do you want from me?"

"A chance to explain. That's all I want," he plead with her, "And then, I will leave you alone. I swear."

"Fine, you've got ten minutes."

* * *

Jessica followed John out to the garden and couldn't help but allow her thoughts to race through her head.

He hadn't tried to contact her once in nearly four years before her grandmother died and now, it seemed as though he couldn't leave her alone.

She didn't even know what he wanted from her at this point. What would her forgiveness do for him anyway? Did he think that he'd be able to move on with his life and be an entirely different person? Or did he think that he'd receive the clean slate it seemed that he'd so desperately been seeking?

What bothered her more than anything else was that a little piece of her seemed to remain, a little piece of her that wanted nothing more than to go back to being John Cena's best friend, the person that knew him best.

Then it hit her. No matter if she never spoke to him again for the rest of her life, no matter if he dropped off the face of the planet, Jessica McMahon would always know John Cena better than anyone else.

"You've got ten minutes," she reminded him as they came to a halt in front of a bench and she sat down. "Starting… now."

"Okay," John nodded in acknowledgement and took a deep breath. "I was an asshole. I ditched my best friend for a girl and didn't have the common sense to leave when she started treating her badly. I was stupid when I stopped trying to find you and what you had been doing before I saw you were in the WWF. I had no excuse, Jess; you still lived next door to my dad."

She nodded. If she never agreed with him ever again, she could at least agree that he had been a complete asshole.

"I missed you then, Jessica, and I miss you now," he continued. "I miss being able to look out of my bedroom window, knowing I could look out and see you there if I caught you at the right time. I miss being bored at school and calling you at four in the morning because I knew you'd be working on a term paper. Hell, I miss knowing your phone number."

"You know what I miss, John?" she sighed heavily and looked up at him. "I miss knowing the real John Cena."

"But you do!" John exclaimed and squatted down in front of her, rubbing a hand over his spiky brown hair. "I'm still the same person you met sixteen years ago, Jess. I'm just bigger and taller and…"

"Stupider," she finished for him sarcastically.

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly. "And stupider, I'll admit it. Letting you walk out of my life was the dumbest thing I've ever done, dumber than any fireworks display I'd ever concocted from my backyard, dumber than any weight I've ever tried to lift. I will spend the rest of my life chasing you if I have to Jess."

"Why chase me, John, when I don't need you around anymore?"

Jessica closed her eyes lightly at the question, knowing that it stung him worse than she had intended. Now, she was just being cruel.

"I, I'm sorry…" Jessica winced and bit her lip, avoiding his gaze, "I didn't mean that."

"No," John waved it off, trying to remain strong. "You're right, Jessica. You don't need me anymore. I don't know why I thought you still did," he added, standing up, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black dress pants.

She stood up and looked at him sadly. She really hadn't meant those words.

He glanced down at his watch, "My ten minutes are up. Well… I guess I'm going to head out now. I have a plane to catch in the morning."

"You really don't have to…"

"No," he cut her off. "I do. I'll see you around, Jessica."

She tried to speak to stop him, but the words seemed to just curl up and die in her throat.

Her hazel eyes watched him walk to the end of the path, under the night sky, until her vision was so blurred by tears that she could no longer see him. Overcome by her emotions, she fell to her knees, her body racked by sobs.

This time, she had been the one to let him go without a fight, all that history and she had been the one to throw it away. Everything she had blamed John for being, she had become, and everything she resented, she had gone and done.

This wasn't the Jessica McMahon that Diana McMahon had raised. This wasn't the rebel who had risen above the circumstances of her life to be someone when no one thought she could, who had superseded the lackluster reputation of her father to become one of the most beloved wrestlers in the industry.

This was the Jessica McMahon who gave up when things got tough, the little girl who hid from her problems.

And in all honesty, Jessica McMahon wasn't liking this version of her former self… at all.

* * *

Jessica McMahon looked at herself in the mirror, prepping for what was one of the biggest events of the year in her industry.

A lot had changed in the last four years.

Her hair color, which had ranged from being fuchsia and black tipped, to red-streaked, to auburn, had returned to her natural caramel color with light blonde highlights. Not to mention, it had remained at mid-bicep length for quite sometime now.

After the Rock left the WWE for Hollywood in late 2003, their time as an on-screen couple had ended, as well. They'd used the excuse that he was leaving for Hollywood, to pursue a career outside the ring, and that she needed someone who could remain by her side whenever she needed him, but he could no longer fill that capacity.

In truth, Jessica missed having Dwayne around. Sure, she had the Hardys and Lita, not to mention Randy Orton, who had become her surrogate brother in Shane's absence, but it was hard not having someone who knew what she was thinking just by looking at her face.

As for her family, Jessica had become an aunt to Shane and Marissa's son Declan James McMahon. The entire family knew that in the next generation would lie the future of sports entertainment and that it would start with Declan, the spitting image of his father.

Stephanie had gotten married to Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H in the WWE, and for the first time, Jessica knew her sister was truly happy. The entire family loved and adored Paul and welcomed him into the family.

Her marriage left Jessica as the only remaining single McMahon child. Truthfully, she hadn't possessed any interest in dating in the past few years. Sure, there had been a boyfriend she had met through a mutual friend here or there, but no one who had really caught her eye.

Since being coupled with Edge in the wake of the last brand draft, in which Jessica had been separated from most of her close friends, as they had been moved to Smackdown, she had been having a hard time convincing guys that the WWE was, in fact, fiction. Then again, she was become close friends with Edge and found that she didn't mind having him around. He was a cool guy and truly loved the business, so she didn't entirely mind being paired with him, as there were certainly worse men to be partnered with.

But soon, that partnership would be ending too. The fans were beginning to cheer her, yet boo Edge, and it wouldn't take long for creative to decide that this was not conducive to either wrestler's image. Most likely, this would be one of the last pay-per-views that they would appear as a couple for.

Tonight though, she was the devoted girlfriend that had followed Edge down to the ring and cheered him on as he captured the first Money in the Bank award, entitling him to a championship match at any time he desired.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jim Ross's voice boomed through the monitor on the other end of her dressing room, "I just don't know how this kid is doing it. JBL is throwing everything he can at John Cena and he just refuses to go down."

Her interest now piqued, Jessica wiped off her face with a towel and headed towards the TV with her bag in her hand.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed. "Cena is going for the FU, Cena is going for the FU, and by God, I think he might have done it!"

Jessica was now intently watching the screen as she watched the incumbent champion hit the mat hard with a loud thud. She could hear the crowd from her own dressing room as they counted along with the ref.

_1-2-3._

"Ladies and gentlemen," Lillian Garcia beamed loudly into the microphone, "Your new WWE Champion, John Cena!"

Jessica smiled and nodded at the TV as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Good for you, John Cena. Good for you."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I'm sure you kind of hated me for what happened at the wedding when you read it, but I hope the ending made up for it… at least a little bit.**

**I'm sure the place in which I decided to jump forward, closer to the present anyway, was a little out of the ordinary, but I thought it was a good place to do so.**

**I know this wasn't the way you wanted John to return to Jessica's life, and certainly you didn't want to see him leave, but I have a feeling the next chapter is going to make up for it.**

**Oh God, I'm giving too much away… I should really stop talking, so I will.**

**But before I completely do so, I wanted to thank all of my reviewers once again for the record-breaking amount of reviews (THIRTEEN!) you posted. I especially want to thank you readers who have reviewed every chapter… and those of you whom I lured out of the woodwork. ;-)**

**Shout-outs, baby:**

**Writethisdown4you, Sammy91, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, x.Shadowz Arrow.x, always-alone-but-never-alone, cassymae, nic-002001, ginny-potter-07, PlasticCandy, dj-ssdd, ChainGangQueen4Life, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, and Adrian Jade.**

**You guys rock!**

**Danielle **

**PS: Anyone else think John's little rampage on Carlito and Kennedy was just too sexy for words? And those smirks… please, God. Kill me.**


	14. Chapter 14

* * *

Jessica sat on the stool, gripping the microphone as she adjusted it to her sitting height, her guitar resting lightly on her knee.

The café had been packed over her four years at college, as she had appeared there numerous times. She had just come back to visit for old time's sake and the management had asked for her to come back later that night for a nostalgic return of sorts. In fact, Jessica was surprised that the room was so full, as the café was just off of campus and most students had gone home for the summer. Apparently, though, her personal life made for good songwriting over the years.

"You go, Rebel!" a voice shouted from the dark area in the back of the room.

Then again, maybe it was the fact that she was a WWE Superstar these days. Either way, it was the release she needed and Jessica didn't care one bit.

"It's good to be back at BC, even though it's been about three years since I was last here. This next one," she began, looking at the base of the microphone, licking her lips, "I only wrote rather recently about a situation I encountered a few months ago. I spent months agonizing over this song, trying to get it perfect, and I realize that I was only trying to scrutinize over this one because I thought that somehow, by fixing it, I could fix the situation. It turns out I can't fix the situation, but hopefully, this song turns out to be the work of perfection that the relationship never could be."

Jessica gripped her acoustic guitar and inhaled one last deep breath before an invisible knife cut out her soul and bore it to the audience.

_**I'm holding on your rope,  
Got me ten feet off the ground.  
I'm hearin' what you say,  
but I just can't make a sound**_

_He took a deep breath and sighed, "Jess, I'm sorry…" he lamented. "I can't."_

"_You can't?" she asked him hoarsely. "Or you won't?"_

_John looked over at his girlfriend, her eyes full of false concern and exhaled deeply, "There's just somewhere else I need to be right now."_

_A completely shocked Jessica McMahon could only sit on her bed and listen as John Cena hung up the phone with a click and the conversation ran cold._

_**You tell me that you need me…**_

"_Thank you, Jessica Juliette McMahon," John said into her ear. "Thank you for making my life less boring."_

Sometimes she could still hear the words still ringing in her ears like a broken record that she could never fix, nor break entirely.

…_**but then you go and cut me down.**_

"_I don't know," he sighed and laid back onto the bed, so that his legs were hanging off the mattress from the knee-down. "I guess, I look around here and wonder why you'd ever want to come back… to West Newbury, I mean."_

There were even times she wished that she hadn't told him that he was crazy. She wished that she had just stuck it out back home in Connecticut and never met John Cena. Her life would have been so much less complicated, so much easier, so much less painful.

_**You tell me that you're sorry **_

"_I would like to tell you that I'm sorry… because I really am sorry, Jessica," he apologized and for a moment, Jessica actually began to feel the sincerity in his voice._

_Quickly, though, she pushed it aside.  
_  
_**Didn't think I'd turn around, and say...**_

"_Sorry for what, John?" she challenged him, running her hands through her blonde hair. "Sorry for the year I spent crying myself to sleep every night? Or sorry for the fact that I had to spend my entire summer break at your Dad's house, taking care of your brothers while he was at work, because you were off playing house with your girlfriend? You're going to have to be a little bit more specific than that…"_

_**It's too late to apologize, it's too late  
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late**_

"_I could have pulled an 'I'm sorry, Jessica' out of a cereal box and it might have meant more to me than that one."_

When she thought about that line, she often smiled. Despite what the end result had been, she had to admit… it was what she was feeling and it was the best way to hurt him just as much as he had hurt her.

_**I'd take another chance, take a fall  
**__**Take a shot for you**_

_She shook her head at him and wiped a tear away from her cheek in frustration, "You never could give a good excuse, could you, John?"_

"_Why should I try to start now?" he shrugged honestly and shoved his hands into his pockets._

No matter how much she wanted to hate him, no matter how angry she felt that he had abandoned her, Jessica could never be that disgusted with him... only herself.

She wanted to see him so much sometimes that it made her absolutely sick to her stomach.

_**And I need you like a heart needs a beat  
But it's nothin' new**_

"_I know you miss him, Jess," Shane sympathized._

"_Am I that obvious tonight?" she asked as she traced the edge of her mug with her fingertips._

"_I'm your brother, obvious or not, I know."_

"_It's just that I always knew I'd get here someday, but I thought I'd have him watching at the least," she shrugged and took a sip of her coffee._

"_You never know, Jess. Old habits tend to die hard."_

Sitting up on stage, singing her heart off of her sleeve, she felt that sickness creep back beneath her skin.

Jessica only wished that he was there, that she could somehow spot those turquoise eyes in the crowd just one more time. Just so that he could know how harshly he had burned her and how deep that crimson scar ran across her flesh.

_**I loved you with a fire red**_

_4:26 am._

_As she rolled over to her right side, Jessica silently cursed whoever had woken her up, thinking they had to have a damn good reason for getting her up at this ungodly hour._

_But then she saw just who had woken her up and a grin instantly spread across her lips._

"_John."_

_Good enough._

"_Hey," John returned her smile. "Long time no see."_

_Jessica shot upright and threw her arms around her best friend, "I missed you so much."_

"_I missed you too," he replied, tightening his grasp on her._

What seemed strange to her most, was that Jessica actually missed missing John in a good way altogether. She hadn't wanted to see him to cheer her up since she was 18 years old. Since then, all she had wished upon him was heartache and pain, but then… then she got her wish.

_**Now it's turning blue**_

"_Sometimes, I guess you just have to start from the ground up again."_

"_I wish you'd follow your own advice, Jessica," John replied softly as the music subsided._

"_There you go again," she dropped his hand and backed away from him, "Trying to pin this on me."_

_**And you say **__**"sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you  
But I'm afraid...**_

"_I missed you then, Jessica, and I miss you now," he continued. "I miss being able to look out of my bedroom window, knowing I could look out and see you there if I caught you at the right time. I miss being bored at school and calling you at four in the morning because I knew you'd be working on a term paper. Hell, I miss knowing your phone number."_

"_You know what I miss, John?" she sighed heavily and looked up at him. "I miss knowing the real John Cena."_

Jessica looked back down at the stage, just in time to see the first, fresh tear fall upon the dusty black stage.

Maybe the stage missed her tears, as well.

_**It's too late to apologize, it's too late  
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late**_

"_Please," she shook her head at him, staring at him out of the elevator, "Please just leave me alone, John."_

_He watched as the gilded doors of the elevator began to slide shut, "I… I'm sorry."_

"_I know," she nodded as the doors slid further closed._

_**I said it's too late to apologize, yeah...**_

"_Yeah," he chuckled lightly. "And stupider, I'll admit it. Letting you walk out of my life was the dumbest thing I've ever done, dumber than any fireworks display I'd ever concocted from my backyard, dumber than any weight I've ever tried to lift. I will spend the rest of my life chasing you if I have to Jess." _

"_Why chase me, John, when I don't need you around anymore?"_

_Jessica closed her eyes lightly at the question, knowing that it stung him worse than she had intended. Now, she was just being cruel._

"_I, I'm sorry…" Jessica winced and bit her lip, avoiding his gaze, "I didn't mean that."_

"_No," John waved it off, trying to remain strong. "You're right, Jessica. You don't need me anymore. I don't know why I thought you still did," he added, standing up, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black dress pants._

_She stood up and looked at him sadly. She really hadn't meant those words._

_He glanced down at his watch, "My ten minutes are up. Well… I guess I'm going to head out now. I have a plane to catch in the morning."_

"_You really don't have to…"_

"_No," he cut her off. "I do. I'll see you around, Jessica."_

_She tried to speak to stop him, but the words seemed to just curl up and die in her throat._

_Her hazel eyes watched him walk to the end of the path, under the night sky, until her vision was so blurred by tears that she could no longer see him. Overcome by her emotions, she fell to her knees, her body racked by sobs.__  
_  
_**I'm holdin on your rope,  
got me ten feet off the ground...**_

_"Ladies and gentlemen," Lillian Garcia beamed loudly into the microphone, "Your new WWE Champion, John Cena!"_

_Jessica smiled and nodded at the TV as she slung her bag over her shoulder._

_"Good for you, John Cena. Good for you."_

As the song ended, Jessica rose off of the stool, her guitar clutched tightly in her right hand, and took a bow.

Sometimes, after a long, stressful time away from everything you knew and loved, it was good to come home again; home to your family and home to your friends.

She scanned what she could see of the crowd before her: there were brown eyes, green eyes, blue eyes, hazel eyes, and even a pair of grey eyes, but none of it mattered. None of them were his.

The eyes that had watched over her day and night for eleven years, the eyes that smiled when he was around his best friend, the eyes that saw her for who she really was and saw beyond her last name… were gone from her life.

She hoped only one day, when they met again, those sapphire eyes could forgive her for what she'd done. All along, she had blamed him. All along, she had blamed Liz.

In the end, though, she was just as much to blame as he was.

* * *

"Tonight is a very special night," Edge began, gripping the microphone as he stared out into the crowd. "Because tonight, I have a very special announcement to make."

Edge wasn't the only one with a special announcement tonight. It was the night of the annual WWE draft on Raw and Eric Bischoff said that he had somehow acquired an extremely lucrative draft pick at the start of the show. All of the fans and superstars were extremely curious as to who this was, not to mention nervous as to whether they too would be drafted.

"But first, I'd like to fondly recall last year's draft, in which I was brought to Raw," he continued, walking around the ring. "I remember coming here and feeling alone, not really having anyone here that I was friends with or even talked to, but then I met Jessica."

Edge turned to look at his girlfriend, listening intently on the other side of the ring, the glitter stars, on both her jeans and black tank top, sparkling under the bright lights of the arena.

"Quite frankly, before her… it sucked here until she came along," he stated honestly, nodding his head. "But since she's been here, she's always been at my side. She has taken care of everything I needed, taken care of all of the little things. You know, like laundry, cooking, cleaning… you get the picture. But tonight," he walked towards her, "We risk being separated yet again, Jessica."

Jessica nodded sadly, knowing that the thought of them being split up was a realistic possibility.

"But I want to ensure that we can't be," he nodded and pulled a black box out of the pocket of his jeans. "Jessica McMahon," Edge smiled, flipping the box open, "Will you marry me…?"

Jessica smiled brightly and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could answer him, a video clip started up on the titantron.

The video was taking place at a hotel, as a lobby was in clearly view. Onto the screen trekked Edge, fresh snow on his boots, meaning this had taken place a while ago in the winter.

He walked up impatiently to the counter, "I'd like to check into my room now."

"Okay, sir," the man at the counter smiled and him politely. "Name, please?"

"Name?" Edge stared at him incredulously. "How can you ask me such a question? I am EDGE, the WWE's very own Rated-R Superstar!"

"I am quite sorry, sir," the man apologized and began typing on his keyboard, searching the database.

"Yeah," he sniped back rudely. "You should be."

"Ahh, sir," the clerk nodded, "Your room is ready. Here are your keys," he added, handing Edge two electronic keycards. "You have our presidential suite, room number 1102. Is there anything else I can do for you this evening, sir?"

"Actually," Edge paused to think for a moment, "Yes, you can. Have your best bottle of champagne, strawberries, and whipped cream sent to my room. Make sure there is a lot of whipped cream," he smirked.

"Yes, sir," he replied politely again and typed something into his computer yet again. "They will be up at your room shortly. The bell-hop will take your things up now."

Edge nodded and took the keys off of the desk.

"Babe," he called to the other side of the screen, "Come on, the room's ready. And I have a surprise for you tonight…"

A flash of deep scarlet hair was visible on the screen as a set of arms wrapped around the Rated-R Superstar's shoulders.

"Well, considering you can only see what I'm wearing on the top layer of my clothing, I can safely say that I have one for you too," the woman smiled at him seductively.

"Lita, Lita, Lita… you continue to surprise me, even after all this time."

"Well then, I think I deserve my surprise now."

"Come on, baby," Edge kissed her and then pulled back quickly, "Not in the middle of the lobby. I know we're crazy, but… not that crazy."

"No, I meant I wanted to go elsewhere… upstairs," Lita grinned mischievously.

"In that case," he returned her grin and slithered an arm around her waist, "Let's go."

Then the footage cut out.

Jessica was left dumbstruck in the middle of the ring.

This was the man she had planned on marrying, this was the man who she had been willing to give up her career for. And he had cheated on her with a woman she had once considered to be her best friend?

How could Lita do this? How could Edge do this?

"Edge…" she choked out, "How could you?"

"Jessie, baby," he backtracked, taking a hold of her hand, "That was a long time ago."

"No," she yelled back into her microphone angrily and backed away from him, "You had the skulls on your arm, you only got those this past December. I would know, I was with you when you got it."

"Jessica, don't be stupid," Edge replied, annoyance definable in his tone, "I said it was a while ago and it was seven months ago. It was when you were out for a few weeks after you hurt your ankle. We were drunk…"

"I've seen you drunk," Jessica sniped back, "You were sober. As was Lita… you know what, Edge… take your stupid ring back," she added, throwing it at him. "I don't want it anymore."

"Jessica," he began through gritted teeth and grabbed a hold of her arm roughly, "Stop being ridiculous and put back on the damn ring."

"No, let go of me," she yelled back, trying to wrench her arm free. "You're hurting me."

"Put back on the ring," he sneered at her as his grip tightened.

"Don't you EVER come near me again, do you hear me?" she seethed as she backed away to the other end of the ring. "I was ready to give up everything for you because some stupid little piece of me told me that I loved you. We all make mistakes, Edge, but I'm beginning to think that throughout the course of my lifetime, you've been the biggest one."

"You ungrateful bitch," he shook his head, gripped his microphone tighter and moved towards her. "I came out here to ask you to marry me and you're going to let one stupid mistake come between us? I guess you are the lying whore that everyone backstage thinks you are."

It was then that Jessica unleashed a smack upon his face that echoed through the now-silent corridors of the arena.

It appeared as though something in Edge's head snapped as he grabbed a hold of Jessica and shoved her to the ground, a maniacal look on his face.

She stumbled to her feet warily. Had she expected him to attack her, she would have been more prepared than that. If there was one thing she knew, it was that Edge would never be able to get the best of her; she was too good for that.

Edge stood at the other side of the ring, hands on his thighs, awaiting her next move. She had humiliated him in front of the entire arena and he wasn't about to stand for it.

He watched as she got to her feet and turned around. This was it, what he had been waiting for.

He charged towards her and closed his eyes as he made impact with her flesh. As he hit the ground and rolled out of the ring, he wondered why he had never noticed how much muscle she had on her body or how much heavier she was when she was dead weight.

As he turned around to face her limp body from the top of the ramp, his face dropped noticeably.

Not only was Jessica McMahon still standing, he now realized why her body felt different to him: it wasn't her.

He looked carefully at the body at her feet, the leather that lay beside it, and rubbed a hand over his face in worry.

Everything had happened so fast. First, he had caught her off guard and then attacked her. Then she got to her feet again, not even thinking, and turned around, right into the spear Edge had said her up for.

But a funny thing had happened just when she had braced herself for the hit… it never came.

She opened her tightly shut eyes and found no Edge in the ring, only a body lying dazed at her feet.

Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor as she scurried over to the man on the ground and knelt beside him.

"John?" she whispered in a softened tone, studying his face.

John's eyes were open, albeit he was blinking rapidly as he stared up into Jessica's hazel eyes.

"I told you I'd always chase you."

The cameraman then caught her attention to signal her that Raw had gone to commercial and she could now leave. While a piece of her wanted to stay and figure out what had just happened, Jessica retreated to the back without another word.

* * *

"No, Steph," Jessica told her sister, rubbing her face with both of her hands, "I didn't know. Did you?"

"No!" Stephanie replied, leaning back on her desk. "Shane?"

"Can't say that I did either," he shook his head at his two sisters and sat down in the leather swivel chair behind the desk. "I'm not really sure if that was planned or not, Jess."

Jessica paced back and forth across the office until a thought suddenly dawned upon her, "Do you think… do you think Dad knew?"

"Maybe," Shane shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. Maybe he wanted a true response out of you."

"Well if that's what he was looking for, he got it," she mused. "I don't even want to look at the footage of it."

"Or maybe Dad knows what we all have the last four years, Jess," Stephanie said to her sister. "You miss him. Even though you'd never let us know, a piece of you left when he left his brother's wedding four years ago, and maybe, just maybe, Dad was trying to fix what neither you, nor John, ever seemed to be able to."

A smile passed over Jessica's lips and she nodded, allowing the realization to dawn on her.

No matter what anyone else said about her father, he was a good man with a kind heart; a man who, despite his daughter's wishes, would do what he knew was right in the end, even if it meant keeping it a secret.

"This must have been planned for months," she shook her head in wonderment. "Excuse me, I have to go pay a visit to someone."

* * *

A knock sounded on the door of Vince McMahon's office.

"Come in," he answered, sorting through his papers as the door creaked open.

"Hey, Dad," Jessica greeted him from the doorway. "Got a minute?"

Vince looked up from his papers and removed his glasses from his face.

"Sure, Jessica," he replied and turned to Raw's General Manager, seated in front of him in a chair. "Eric, if you don't mind…"

"No," the newly-gray Eric Bischoff shook his head and proceeded to rise from his chair, "Not at all…"

"No, Eric," Jessica waved him off. "You don't have to go anywhere, this will only take a moment."

"Alright, Jess," Vince smiled at his youngest child, "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing really," she looked down at her fingers and fiddled with the ring on her right hand, "I just wanted to say…" she looked back up at her father across the room, "I just wanted to say thank you."

Barely finished with her sentence, Jessica retreated back through the open door and shut it behind her.

Eric looked over to his employer with a confused look on his face, "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Vince waved him off with a knowing glance, "It's a father-daughter thing."

* * *

Jessica walked down the hallway of the arena, her hands thumbs firmly hooked in her jeans pockets. Raw had ended over an hour ago, making it just past midnight, and the crowd had long-since filed out of the arena in droves.

Being a WWE Superstar for the last few years had taught her to value the downtime that she had, as moments to yourself were hard to come by. You were either in the ring, working out promos, doing fan signings, attending publicity stunts, or hopping the next airplane out of the city.

Still, she loved her job and loved her fans, so while others complained of the daunting tasks they faced in the business, Jessica just sat back and drank in the world around her.

And just when she was getting caught up in her own mind, her phone rang, knocking her back into reality.

She glanced at the caller ID and smirked as she stopped her brisk walk.

"You know, Mr. Orton, I was waiting to hear from you," Jessica laughed into the flip phone. "How's that shoulder of yours doing?"

"It's doing alright," he replied happily, "Docs say I'll be back sooner than they originally thought, which is always good."

"Good," she concurred.

"Yep, and guess who just happens to be sitting in your dressing room, waiting for you to come and visit so you both can go to dinner?"

"Hmm… how many guesses do I get?" Jessica chuckled, playing along with Randy's game.

"I'll give you one guess and one hint," Randy replied. "He happens to be the most handsome man on the WWE Superstar roster. He is about six feet, four inches tall, 245 pounds of pure muscle…"

"Oh come on, Randy," Jessica smiled into the receiver, "The Rock's been gone for two years now…"

His voice dropped, "I was talking about me."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized innocently. "You say you're in my dressing room, eh?"

"Yes I most certainly am in your dressing room, waiting for you."

"Well then I most certainly am on my way," she replied and hung up the phone.

Jessica walked another few feet before she heard footsteps behind her, followed by a pair of hands over her eyes.

"Jesus, Randy," she laughed and reached up, pulling the hands off of her face. "You couldn't wait five minutes for-"

But when she turned around and looked up at her surprise, she didn't look into the emerald green eyes of Randy Orton. Instead, she was looking up into the big, turquoise eyes of John Cena.

"You're not Randy," she shook her head at him, not breaking his gaze for a single second.

John, instead, broke their mutual stare first and looked himself over, from his feet up, "Nope, don't think so."

"You…uh… you look good, John," Jessica stated awkwardly, trying to come up with a good conversation starter.

"Thanks," he smiled genuinely at her. "It means a lot coming for you. I mean, this has been the first civil conversation we've had with each other in quite some time."

"Yeah…" she replied, looking at her feet and then back at him, "About that, I'm…"

"Don't," he held up a hand to stop her. "We've gone this route before and we've traveled in circles ever since. I made mistakes, as did you. After nearly ten years of this vicious cycle, I think it's about time we just wiped the slate clean, don't you?"

Jessica stared at him in marvel as her face softened. He really had grown up a lot in four years; not just physically, but emotionally, as well. Maybe he had agonized over that night, all those years ago, just as much as she had.

"We can't just forget about what happened, John," Jessica shook her head at him, her caramel tresses waving with it. "I don't want to forget what we've done because if we forget, everything we've gone through to get back to this point has been in vain."

John eyed his childhood friend for a few moments and then a smile crept across his face.

"You always were the smart one, Jess," John smiled kindly at her.

"And yet, somehow, I managed to wind up as a wrestler," she snickered, "And in the same profession as you. That sure as hell says a lot."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, John laughed heartily.

"I missed this," he admitted softly, "You and me."

"I've missed it too," she nodded in agreement, "No matter how much I denied it, these nine years have sucked without you. I miss having you as my best friend."

"Correction, McMahon, you _missed_ having me as your best friend. I'm here now," he reached out to her face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "And I'm not going anywhere this time."

Jessica smiled and threw her arms around John's neck, "Good."

John, in turn, wrapped his arms around her petite body and sighed heavily, "I missed you, Jessica."

"I missed you too," Jessica whispered into his gray Red Sox tee shirt, which was now being stained with little dots from her tears. "I'm done with the old, spiteful me. I'm back to being the Jessica McMahon you know and love."

"That's good because the old Jessica McMahon was a bitch," he laughed.

"Yeah, I was, wasn't I?" she chuckled and pulled out of the embrace, wiping away at her tears. "But hey, it's a clean slate, right?"

"And whatever we said or did in the past nine years up until now has been forgotten, right?" John clarified, his blue eyes now a shade she couldn't recognize.

When John was happy, his eyes turned to a turquoise color, yet when he was sad or hurt, they became a deep, sapphire color. The worst was when he was angry and they turned cobalt and usually, it was then that Jessica often knew she had done something wrong.

This was a new color, however, one that resembled azure blue; one that Jessica could not associate with any emotion in particular. Silently, she continued to study his eyes.

"Right…" she nodded, still inspecting his azure orbs. "Why?"

"Because for the last few minutes I've been trying to think of what I wanted to say to start writing on that slate," he smiled. "And for the first time, I think I know what I want to say."

"Alright," she nodded brightly, wedging her palms into her back pocket, "What do you want to say, John?"

"Well, actually, it's kind of what I've already said."

Taking note of Jessica's confused look, he chuckled and then attempted to explain, "From my first day on the road, up until about an hour ago, I wrote in this," John began, but stopped to rummage through the duffle bag at his feet. "Here it is," he announced, pulling a thick, brown book out of it, "I figured you might like to read it. You know, a little catch up over the last three years… pick up from where we left off."

Jessica reached out and took the book from John's fingers. Upon careful inspection, she noticed that it was leather-bound and somewhat worn.

"I'd love to read it," she smiled at him tucking the notebook into her own duffel bag.

A few seconds later, she was startled by the familiar ring of her cell phone.

"Crap," she winced at the caller ID, "That's Randy. I was supposed to meet him in my dressing room…" she glanced again at the time on her phone, "Oh, forty-five minutes ago."

"Yeah, you might want to take care of that," John chuckled lightly. "I probably have a cab waiting outside of the arena to take me to the hotel… and the meter is most likely running at this very moment."

"You sure you don't want to join me and Randy?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I have an early flight out tomorrow into Boston. I'm going home to visit Mom and Dad."

"Really? Well, say hello to them for me," she smiled at the thought of her second family.

"I will," John returned her grin, "I definitely will. I'll see you in Sacramento on Monday?"

"Count on it," she replied and turned around, heading for her dressing room.

But then, a few moments later, she decided to turn around again.

"Hey, John?" she called out to him.

He turned around, "If you get sick of staying with your dad, the key's still in the same hiding place. You remember where?"

"Third floorboard, second stair," John nodded in recollection and returned to his journey to the doors of the arena.

* * *

"Jesus Christ, Jessica!" Randy exclaimed in exasperation, his green eyes starting to glaze with exhaustion. "I thought you got jumped back there."

"I'm sorry," Jessica apologized with a shrug, "I had to take care of something really quickly."

"As long as you're okay," he waved it off.

"Well, _you_ don't look okay, Randy," she sat down beside her friend on the couch and studied his face. "You look tired."

"I am… intense rehab sessions, four hour flights, and three hours sleep will do that to you."

"Did you even book yourself a hotel room, Rand?"

"Damn," he shook his head as he rose to his feet. "I knew I forgot something…"

"Well in that case, I say screw restaurant food!" she nodded her head once punctually, getting to her feet, as well. "Grab your bags, you're staying in my room. We'll order in room service and have a good old fashioned slumber party."

"Randy Orton's slumber parties often don't involve sleeping," Randy wiggled his eyebrows at her and put his recovering arm around her shoulders lightly, his overnight bag hanging off of his good shoulder.

"Oh please," Jessica rolled her eyes at him, sliding an arm around his waist, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, "You'll die first."

* * *

**A/N: I told you I would make up for it in Chapter 14!!!!! Did I lie? Huh? Huh? Did I?**

**I think not, my friends. I certainly think not. Plus, it was an EXTRA LONG chapter because I know that I owed you one.**

**Like I said, the intro was not originally a part of the chapter, it was going to be a one-shot piece that went along with the story, but I felt like it belonged here more than anywhere else. **

**That being said, what did you think?**

**Oooh… and big JK Rowling style hint: the azure blue? Means EVERYTHING.**

**Dun. Dun. Dun.**

**Read and review, my lovely readers!**

**Shout out time, homeslices: Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, writethisdown4you, PlasticCandy, Sammy91, nic-002001, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, goddessofthenite (Finally, Julia!), cassymae, ChainGangQueen4Life, ginny-potter-07, and The billion dollar bitch.**

**And disclaimer: the song is called Apologize. It belongs to RepublicOne and the remix belongs to RepublicOne and Timbaland. Not me. So there.**

** Danielle **


	15. Chapter 15

The sunlight burned Jessica's eyes open as morning crept into her hotel room.

Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the bright rays, which made her vision somewhat clearer. She glanced around her body and saw that Randy was asleep beside her, still in the black tank and blue basketball shorts that he had first visited her at the arena in.

Her gaze darted around the rest of the room, briefly running on the various plates and glasses littered around the surfaces around the room. Not being able to settle on a single item, Jessica and Randy decided to order anything and everything that appealed to them. Unfortunately, it had resulted in the current mess in her room.

Jessica sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what had transpired last night before she fell asleep in bed. She and Randy had eaten their dinner and sat down to watch a movie on the TV. They argued about sharing a bed and Jessica told Randy that he would not sleep on the floor as she would just sleep on the chair and be okay with it.

The last thing she could remember was watching some late night TV talk show repeat at around 3am and feeling extremely sleepy. She must have fallen asleep in the chair, but it still didn't explain how she wound up back in bed, under the blankets.

Jessica shifted her gaze back over to her friend, still asleep beside her and bed. A knowing smile appeared on her face and she bent down beside his face and kissed his cheek lightly; he must have carried her to bed.

She pulled the blankets off of her lightly, careful not to disturb him, and slid out of bed quietly. It was too early for her to get dressed and she was too tired to take a shower, so she sat down in the chair behind the desk to figure out a task to occupy herself.

It was then that Jessica remembered the brown leather book that John had given her the night before. She reached into the duffle bag beside the desk and pulled out his worn book, turning to the first page.

_Dear Jessica,_

_So tonight was my first official night in World Wrestling Entertainment. I was told for a long time that it was coming, but it wasn't until I made my way down to the ring tonight that I actually believed it._

_And who was my first match against? Kurt Angle._

_And before you go off complaining that I was letting my ego get a hold of me, I have two words for you: Ruthless Aggression._

_Stop rolling your eyes at me, Jess, I was just answering his challenge and taking your father's advice._

_Staring out at that crowd tonight reminded me of that time you took me to Wrestlemania. Do you remember that? You took me into the ring, blindfolded, and surprised me for my birthday? Well, even if you don't, I do. Actually, it's probably the reason I was in the ring tonight, so thank you for that._

_Too bad you're off being Women's Champion on Raw and there's no competition over here on Smackdown. Did I ever tell you that you suck for that? No? Well, I just did._

_Anyway, I'm off to have a mini celebration after my first match. Kurt, Jericho, and a couple of other guys are taking me out to a bar for a few drinks. Yes, I know what a few means… doesn't mean I'll stick to it though. Hehe._

_- John_

Jessica smiled as she finished reading the first page of his journal. The entire thing had been written to her. Somehow, he knew that they'd someday find their way back to each other again and when they did, he wanted her to know everything that had gone on in his life, a way to pick up where they had left off.

Leave it to John Cena to do the little things.

_Dear Jess,_

_So yours truly will now be facing Chris Jericho in his next match. Apparently, I made that much of an impact._

_I know that doesn't matter too much to you, as you're probably just laughing your head off at the fact that you KNOW that I'm hungover right now. Hey, it's my day off. Don't judge me, girl._

_It will be on Smackdown Thursday night and it will be in Boston, at the Fleet Center. It's too bad you can't be there for my first official homecoming, but once again, you're off being the Women's Champ. Don't you worry, though, I'll get there someday and you'll be complaining about my ass. Yeah, that sounds about right to me._

_And if you think I'm hungover now, you should see me on Thursday night after Marc gets a hold of me. It'll be senior year all over again._

_- John_

A little pang of guilt crept into Jessica's heart at the mention of his aspirations to become WWE Champion. She wished that she could somehow jump back in time and relive his journey there with him, as his best friend, but unfortunately, she could not.

Looking back, though, at the journal again, she realized that this was John's way of connecting all of the dots for her, and silently made a mental note to thank him when she saw him on Monday for RAW.

_Hey Jess,_

_Alright, so now I see what you were talking about a while back._

_I met the Rock (I know he's Dwayne, but indulge my inner child, okay?) in Atlantic City before Smackdown tonight. He really is a cool guy and I get why you two are so close. Kind of sucks that as reigning champion, he gets to jet back and forth between the two shows and that since you kind of lost the title last week, you can't even come with him. You're his girlfriend… at least onscreen… why in the Blue Hell can't you come too? Like my pun? No? Well, I liked it and that's all that matters._

_Did you see me get that pinfall on Jericho? Ahh, and the crowd cheering for me and Taker? Granted, it wasn't exactly my idea to slap Jericho in your dad's office, but I don't say no to creative, I'll tell you that much. That's probably how Lance, Jay, and Andrew got stuck in the whole Un-Americans thing, but you DIDN'T hear it from me._

_Well, your boyfriend (I know, I know… I get it) told me he's going to show me around Atlantic City and the boardwalk. He told me that you guys had some crazy times here over the years; called NJ your old stomping grounds. I knew you were planning on getting a little house here during the summer, but stomping grounds? Come on, Jess._

_Anyway, we got to talking and he told me you miss me. I hope that's true 'cause I miss you too, McMahon. A lot._

_Take care of yourself, Jess._

_- John  
_

A hand on her shoulder caused her to jump and she turned around to stare into the familiar eyes of her best friend, Randy Orton.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" he asked with a laugh, running a hand over his messy hair.

"Nope, not at all," she shook him off with a fanned wave, "I just like to jump ten feet into the air every now and then. It keeps my metabolism up."

"I forgot how happy go lucky you are in the morning, Jess," he smirked at her.

"It's only because I haven't had my coffee yet!" she protested in frustration. "You're not exactly Mister Morning Glory either!"

"At least _I_ am tolerable!" Randy shot back with a laugh.

"Whatever, man," she rolled her eyes at him and turned back to John's journal.

"Hey," he tilted his head to the side as he caught sight of the book, "Isn't that Cena's diary?"

Jessica snorted at the notion, "Yep, John "Macho Man" Cena writes in a diary. Anyway, yeah, it's his journal. How'd you know?"

"He's been writing in that thing for years," Randy recalled with a chuckle.

"What?" Jessica eyed him strangely.

"It's nothing… just that, the guys used to tease him that that damn thing was his girlfriend that's how much time he spent writing in it."

"Well, they can stop teasing him over it," she informed him.

"And why is that?"

"Because," she began cockily, picking up the open book and thrusting it in his face, "It's written to his best friend; it's written to me."

"Just because I'm drop dead sexy, Jessica," Randy began, looking over the lined paper into her eyes, "Doesn't mean that I'm stupid…oh," he finished, glancing down at the first line. "Dear Jessica? He really wrote it to you, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she shrugged. "Did he ever… did John ever mention me?"

"Sometimes," Randy nodded. "He was always watching your matches, getting worked up over them. Hell, when we were in OVW he was always coaching you while sitting in front of the TV, telling me that he remembered when you started training. For a little while, I thought it was some weird obsessive thing, but then I found a picture of you and him in his wallet. It looked kind of old, so I asked him 'bout it. Turns out," he took a seat on the bed in front of her, "It was from your graduation party, Summer of '95. You were kind of cute back then too."

"Thanks," Jessica smiled at him, blushing slightly.

"What happened?"

She smacked him sharply in the arm.

"Ouch!" he winced, his hand immediately flying to his bad arm. "Bad…. Arm…stupid! What the hell was that for?!?"

"You were being an ass."

"And now this hurts like a bitch…" he complained, still holding onto his arm. "Kiss it and make it all better?"

"Drop dead," she deadpanned.

"Okay then."

* * *

_Happy Halloween, Jessica!_

_Too bad we can't be home to Trick or Treat like old times. Then again, Officer Daniel Cena of the West Newbury Police Department would not be too thrilled with our usual antics, now would he?_

_Smackdown had its Halloween party tonight and I must admit, it actually wasn't that lame. Ron dressed up as a pimp, Eddie and Chavo were Zorro and Poncho, Tajiri made an odd attempt at a 70's disco king, Shannon was the devil, Torrie was Xena (which I appreciated), Dawn Marie was a biker chick (which I appreciated equally as much), and good old Mae Young and Moolah? Marilyn Monroe and Pebbles. Leave it to those two, I swear. Oh, I forgot to mention… your sister was dressed as a witch. Semi-appropriate, no?_

_Quick question: Why doesn't Mysterio have to dress up? I mean, I know he wears a mask 24/7, but still… come on! It's just not fair._

_But I still had the best costume ever. I came to the Smackdown party dressed as… wait for it… wait for it…_

_VANILLA ICE!_

_Kind of fitting, isn't it? Well, apparently it is so much so that Steph wants that to be my new gimmick: The White Rapper. Or, as I was told, the Wrestling Eminem. Come on, how stupid is that?_

_I would much rather be the wrestling world's very own Marky Mark._

_Hey, remember the time when that asshole Dave Bennett TP'ed my house sophomore year? And then how you, me, Steve, Marc, and Dan put on all of the black clothing we could find, painted our faces black, and then headed over to his house at 2am, armed with cheese wiz, silly string, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce? God, that was so much fun… except when the cops showed up at your grandmother's house two hours later. Acting must be in your family because she put on the best performance for those guys._

"_I cannot believe that you gentlemen have nothing better to do on one of the most dangerous nights of the year! You show up at my house at four in the morning to do nothing but point fingers at my granddaughter and her friends, without any evidence, might I add, for something that was clearly the work of some neighborhood hoodlums!"_

_I remember that one like it was yesterday. Then, as I recall, she turned around and laughed once they left!_

"_Granted, it was justice, but Christ, Jessica… at least let me know so I can come up with a better alibi next time."_

_She was the best, that's for sure. I miss her too._

_Look, I'm off to sleep because I'm all but legally dead right now, as I sit in my Grand Rapids hotel room. I'll write more in the morning, okay?_

_- John  
_

_Dear Jess,_

_It's five in the morning. I'm tired. Screw writing._

_- John_

A smile graced Jessica's lips as she sat in the passenger's seat of the rental car.

"Honestly, Jessica, I don't think I've ever seen you read this much since the last Harry Potter book came out."

"Hmm?" she snapped her head up from John's latest message and stared at her friend beside her.

"How much of that have you read in the past week?"

"Let's see… today is Monday, right?" she asked him.

"Right," he nodded, keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead of them.

"He wrote an entry every two days, pretty much, and always after a house show, pay-per-view, or taping, so… I've read from June 27, 2002 until November 1, 2002. So let's see," Jessica scrunched her nose and tapped a finger to her lips, "That's about one hundred twenty eight days between dates. So figure, at four entries a week, that's… rounded down for arguments sake, seventy four entries."

"That's a lot to have read in a week, Jess! I think that you are certifiably… wait a second," Randy eyes widened as they stopped a traffic light and he turned to face her, "Did you just do that in your head?"

"Mhmm," she nodded innocently.

"That's fucking ridiculous," he shook his head slowly and turned back towards the road.

"What is?"

"Jessica," he chuckled at her, amazed at her inability to recognize her feat, "You just did four different mathematical operations within 90 seconds. I'd say that's a little crazy, wouldn't you?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "I've always been able to do that. Is that a lot?"

"For someone as smart as you are," Randy continued to laugh at her, "Apparently, not."

* * *

Jessica sat on the black leather couch of her dressing room, her head sunken into her hands.

Last week, her perfect life had crumbled before her. She had given up her career for her boyfriend, her boyfriend had cheated on her, and now she was without a boyfriend and nearly without a career.

A knock that resonated around her room was quickly followed by a head peering around the now-open door, "You wanted to see me, Jess?"

"You knock, yet you don't even wait for me to answer, Cena?" she sniped at him and looked up.

"Now there's the temper I always knew. Kind of missed that," he smirked at her.

"If I wanted to be ridiculed, I would have gone looking for Edge," Jessica retorted.

"Well then why did you go looking for me?" John asked her as he shut the door and leaned his back against it.

That was a good question. After all, he had saved her in her time of need, but there was more to it than that. John Cena had much better things to do than to waste his time on her.

"Because I want answers," she informed him. "I want to know why you ran down to the ring last week, why you took the spear for me?"

"I think the better question is: why not?" he replied, a hint of mischief in his blue eyes.

"Oh, I don't know…" Jessica began, pretending to search her brain for an answer, "How about because you had better things to be doing like… hmm… defending your title, for instance? Or is that just me?"

"You were in the ring," he replied coolly, "How can I defend my title when you're in the ring?"

"Stop avoiding the damn question, Cena!" she lashed out in frustration. "I didn't ask you to come here to play a game of twenty questions with the Riddler. I asked you to come here because I wanted the truth."

"The Riddler?" John laughed at the notion. "That's a new one. Usually, I get jokes about being Vanilla Ice…"

"I'm serious, John!" she rubbed her hands over her face in anguish.

Suddenly, John's face softened as he walked over to the young blonde and sat down beside her on the couch.

"You called me John," he tilted his head at her.

"Yeah, so?" she shot back defensively, her forearms resting on her thighs.

"You haven't called me by my first name for years, Jess," he explained himself in a softer tone.

"It was… it was the only way I could get you to stop and listen," she covered. "Can you just answer my question?"

John shook his head at her deception and stood up from the couch, making his way towards the door once again.

"Same old Jessica McMahon," he sighed on his way, but then turned around to look at her one last time as he pulled open the door. "I was sick of you getting hurt because of him and I couldn't let it happen again, so I took the hit. I figured that whatever he could hit me with, I could take. Same reason I sent the video over to the A/V truck. You deserved better."

* * *

"John Cena was the one who got that video, King! Now," Jim Ross began as he sat at ringside, waiting for the night's next match to start, "It appears as though there's a connection between the two. I don't know exactly how for how long, but it seems as though John Cena and Jessica McMahon have known each other for a long time. Maybe, we'll get some answers later tonight."

"Absolutely, J.R.," Lawler nodded in agreement. "Something's not right here. There's something the Champ and Jessica know, but haven't said. When Jessica has her match later tonight, I think I will try and get the story myself… and maybe get a good look at those puppies too!"

"Easy, King…"

"She's a newly single woman, J.R., and I'm more than willing to be the rebound…"

"Anyway, up next," Ross began, trying to steer the commentary in a different direction, "Lita and Edge tell their side of the story in an exclusive interview with Todd Grisham."

* * *

"Well, Todd," Lita shrugged, feigning innocence, "I guess it just comes down to whose the better lover and quite obviously, there's no better than me."

"Nuh uh," Edge shook his head slowly and smirked over at his newest girlfriend.

"It's really not my fault that Jessica was inadequate in the, uh… bedroom area of the relationship, I just gave Edge what he wanted," she returned his Cheshire grin and hooked a finger underneath the neckline of his shirt, pulling her towards him for a kiss.

Out of nowhere, however, a flash of blonde hair darted across the screen and both Edge and Lita landed into the multicolored backdrop behind them. The camera shook for a few moments, as it had probably taken a minor impact, as well, but soon righted itself.

It focused in on the concrete floor of the arena as Jessica McMahon and Lita rolled around on the ground. McMahon gained the upper hand rather quickly, and straddle over her former best friend, landing numerous fists to her face.

"Jessica!" another male voice called from outside the camera's view.

Yet, she chose to ignore it as she continued to pummel Lita on the ground.

"You were my best friend! And he was my boyfriend… how could you, Lita!?!?"

"Jess, come on…" the voice continued to urge her as two masculine arms hooked under her own and dragged her off of Lita.

But Jessica continued to kick and scream, "Let me go, John!"

Finally, John managed to get her up against the wall and tilted her chin up to meet his gaze, "Save it, she's not worth it."

"Come on, Cena," Edge mocked him, helping his girlfriend to her feet, "Can't you keep your whore on a leash?"

"You miserable bastard!" Jessica screamed at him and broke away from John for a moment to charge towards the despicable pair.

Thinking fast, her wrapped his massive arms around her midsection and tightened his grip as she tried to charge again.

"You're not helping the situation, man," he barked at his new rival, "If she breaks away this time, you're both screwed. So take your own whore and go before I decide to ignore my conscious and let her go."

"Come on, baby," Lita cooed to Edge, "Let's go make our own fun back at the hotel. See you later, losers," she winked with a curt smile at Jessica and led her boyfriend away from the scene at hand.

Once Lita and Edge disappeared, Jessica's shrill screams and fiery insults subsided as she began to breathe in staggered breaths.

"Jess?" John asked concernedly, still holding onto her around her waist.

Instead of replying, her knees collapsed underneath her as tears began to flow freely.

Feeling her weight instantly drop, John instinctively locked his arms tighter around her petite frame, "Whoa…whoa, Jess… don't…"

Fortunately, John was able to hold onto her so that she didn't collapse altogether, but Jessica's still lightly landed on her knees, her body limp with sobs.

"He was everything to me," she cried, her head hung low.

John knelt down behind her and pulled her into his chest tightly, "I know it sucks, Jess. It sucks a whole lot right now."

She nodded weakly.

"But if it makes you feel better, we both know whose sucking really hard right now, also on her knees…"

Jessica allowed a small chuckle to pass through her lips as she hiccupped.

"That's my girl," John smiled as he lifted her to her feet.

As soon she was steady enough to stand on her own, Jessica whipped around, her caramel tresses swinging around her body in a wave, as she flung herself into the arms of John Cena.

"Don't worry," he assured her softly, wrapping his arms around her torso, "I won't let you go through this alone."

* * *

**A/N: Was this a good chapter? I think I ended it on a high...er note.**

**I was wondering what you guys think of the whole journal to Jessica concept? If you're skeptical of it now, I think you'll come to appreciate it in the end. It'll probably be about 3-4 chapters down the road from now, but it'll be interesting to see what happens until then.**

**By no means does that suggest that the last chapter will be 18. Oh no, I have more for you all… and it might suggest a sequel. I mean, I'm sure you'll have to read up until the end to truly figure out the answer to this next question, but would you guys like to see a sequel to this?**

**Well, as usual, let me know what you think…**

**Loud and proud: dj-ssdd, Sammy91, The billion dollar bitch, ChainGangQueen4Life, Daddy's Lil HeartBreaker, nic-002001, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, ginny-potter-07, and writethisdown4you!**

**And in celebration of my 100****th**** review, I promise an update by the end of tomorrow night!**

**Danielle **


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey, Amy?" Jessica asked, packing the last of her wrestling gear into her travel bag.

"Yeah?" the redhead responded, as she began to do the same.

"Am I crazy?"

"Yep," Amy laughed.

"No, I'm serious!" she assured her friend, sitting down on the wooden bench near the cubbies of the locker room.

"For what?"

"I don't know, I've just been thinking lately about what I've been hearing backstage," she shrugged. "About life imitating TV, about my, quote, 'having the entire male roster wrapped around my finger,'" Jessica added, complete with air quotes.

"Look, Jess," Amy shook her head, "Sometimes life imitates TV. Just look at your sister and Paul, for instance."

"I just don't get it, Ames. Can't I just call Randy and John my two best guy friends without it leading to scandal?"

"Well, no," she chuckled awkwardly, "Probably because of me, so I kind of apologize for that, but while there might be cases of life imitating TV, like in the case of your sister, more often than not, Jess… TV imitates life."

* * *

_Dear Jess,_

_I'm not writing to you from the desert in Iraq. From where, I can't say, but not because I don't want to. For our own safety, we have not been told the exact location, but I can at least describe to you what it's like here._

_It's extremely sandy and often, we have to stay inside because of bad windstorms that can be immensely dangerous (and yes, I'm aware I used a big word, thank you very much). While it is winter back home, it's summer here and temperatures can actually peak in the 120's._

_The men and women here are such extraordinary people. We went to the infirmary yesterday, when we arrived, and met with a bunch of the wounded soldiers. It's amazing how in such horrible circumstances, our presence made them smile. I guess that's what it's all about, isn't it?_

_We competed early this morning, in order to avoid the worst of the heat. Today, it was only 95 degrees out when we got outside. Summers never even got that hot in Massachusetts and I rarely remember it coming close in California or Kentucky, either._

_I faced Big Show in a non-title bout. I never realized how massive that man was until I stood nose to…pec with him in the ring. He's huuuuge! Why does my first match in a troops special have to be against someone who is over 500 pounds, I ask you? Better yet, how the hell am I supposed to FU THAT?_

_So while I sit in this room that I share with Shelton Benjamin, who's busy moping because he's not rooming with Charlie, and try to find out where I can do some workouts with the soldiers, I feel incredibly small._

_But before I forget, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas. I know we can't spend Christmas together this year, let alone in the same country, but I hope that you're having a good time with the family, wherever you are this morning. _

_- John_

_PS: Do you still have my old college jersey? I was just wondering 'cause I still have my ticket stub from Wrestlemania._

"Jess, you want to go grab something to eat?" a pair of green eyes asked her over the pages of the journal.

"Yeah, you want to go now? I'm already changed. It doesn't take too long after a house show," she answered, closing the book and dropping it onto the tabletop.

"No, I was asking about next Thursday. Of course I want to go now, stupid," Randy rolled his eyes at her. "Copeland just called and said that he, Amy, and John were going out now and wanted to know if we wanted to join them."

"Sounds good," she agreed, ignoring his apparent sarcasm. "Where to?" she asked as she slid on her flip flops.

"I think Applebee's or something like it," he shrugged. "Not much to choose from around here."

"Eh… whatever, better than the same old fast food crap we eat at rest stops," Jessica remarked as she slid her dark blue pocketbook onto her shoulder.

"So…uh…" Randy attempted to make small talk as he closed the door behind them, "How's the journal coming?"

"Good, I guess," Jessica bounced her shoulders as they approached the elevator. "I'm up to Christmas 2004. It's weird reading it, directed to me. I spent the majority of these years not even mentioning his name out loud, let alone speaking to him."

"Must have been tough," he nodded empathetically as the doors to the elevator closed behind them.

"More lonely than anything," she sighed. "I mean, yes, I had you and a bunch of other people too, but John…"

"What about him?"

"He knows my life story, in fact, he lived about… twelve years of it with me. Just because you don't mention someone's name for over four years doesn't mean that you forget all about them."

"I understand," Randy placed a hand on her shoulder, "And if he does anything to mess up the second chance you have given him, I WILL kill him."

"Thanks, Randy," she laughed as the doors opened into the lobby.

"Before we meet them, though, can I ask you an honest question?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Do you believe what they're saying backstage?"

"That I'm your sex slave?"

Jessica's eyes widened, "They're saying that?"

"No," Randy smirked, "But it doesn't mean I'm not thinking it."

"Asshole," she glared at him and smacked his bicep.

"Hey!" he protested. "What's with all this hitting lately? This isn't smack Randy Orton month! I'm a fragile man!"

"Okay, Tinkerbell," Jessica rolled her hazel eyes at Randy's antics. "But can you seriously answer my question now?"

"Fine!" he relented with a huff. "People are going to believe what they want to believe. You're the big boss's daughter, so everyone's going to undermine all of the hard work you had to do to get here. All that matters is that YOU know that the people who care about you don't believe that garbage."

"So you don't believe it?"

"PLEASE," he furrowed his eyebrows at her, "You think that you've got me wrapped around your finger? Look at Melina and Hennigan. Now there's a man who is whipped…"

"I love you, Randy," she smiled at him as he slid an arm around her shoulders. Moving forward into the lobby. "How the hell would I have kept sane without you all these years?"

"Easy answer, you wouldn't."

"Hey, over here!" a voice called to the pair from the entrance of the hotel. "Took you long enough!"

"Sorry, Adam," Jessica apologized, "I guess we all can't be Speedy Gonzales like you."

"Great comeback, Jessica," Adam mocked her. "What are you going to do next… have another snappy one in Spanish for me?"

"Solamente si quieres," she shrugged innocently.

"Mi favorita amiga, es divertido a confundirlo, no?" Amy laughed in response.

"Seriously, it's enough," he pouted as he looked between the two conversing women.

"Confundimos todos," Jessica continued to chuckle as they looked over the guys and their blank faces.

"Do they do this often?" John asked, leaning in towards Adam and Randy.

"Too often," the youngest of the three shook his head sadly and turned towards Jessica and Amy, "Okay, Amy, Jessica… es suficiente."

"Boo, you're no fun," Jessica scrunched her nose and stuck out her tongue at Randy.

"You do that again and I'll rip it out of your mouth," he shot back at her.

"No you won't," she replied spitefully.

"Alright," he relented with a nervous laugh and slid an arm around her shoulders again, "But it sure sounded good didn't it?"

"Yeah, it kind of did," Jessica admitted, scrunching her nose.

"Impressive, Orton," John marveled at his friend, "You know Spanish?"

"Uh, no," the woman also known as Lita chortled, "That's one of four phrases that he actually knows."

"And one of them would get him bitch slapped in Mexico," Jessica added with a punctual nod.

"It was just one time! I didn't know it meant…"

"Okaaaaay," Jessica interred, cutting off his comment before it got to be too much, "Adam's the Rated-R Superstar and even _he_ isn't stupid enough to say that. Anyway, let's head out to dinner, shall we?"

* * *

"Oh come on, Randy," John laughed at his friend, lying across Amy and Jessica's laps in the booth, "You're such a lightweight."

"Dude," Randy laughed as his head rolled around on his shoulders. "Dude. Dude!"

"What?" he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Haha… you're like Stone Cold Steve Austin, man."

"Wow," Jessica snorted at the clearly inebriated Randy on her lap, "I think it's time for you to go home."

"Nah, man…" he continued to smile, "Party's just getting started."

"Orton," she shook her head at him, "I think your party's over."

"Aww, Jess! I was just getting started."

"And now you're finished, _man_," Adam replied, attempting to hold back his laughter. "Come on, Randy, let's get you back to the car. Amy and I are going to take you to the hotel."

"Okaaaaay," he sighed and stumbled to his feet.

"Jess, key?"

"His back pocket… I am NOT relying on him to let me back in the room after John and I get back."

"After we get back?" John arched an eyebrow at her. "We're not leaving now?"

"Well, Applebee's? Yeah. That doesn't mean we're going back to the hotel now though. I mean, unless you want to…" she shrugged.

"No, no. It's cool… we'll find something to do around here, I'm sure," John replied with a smile and stood up from the table. "Good thing we took two cars."

"Yeah, definitely."

"Alright," Amy called their attention as they walked through the doors of the restaurant, "We're taking him back to the hotel. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Goodnight," they both replied in unison.

* * *

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Kind of," he replied. "I'm just going down this main road, looking for a Starbucks. I want coffee."

"You're going down a main road at 80 miles per hour and you're _looking_ for a Starbucks?" Jessica raised her eyebrows at him. "That's a new one. Don't you think exceeding the speed limit by 25 miles per hour might get you a ticket?"

"Maybe… but my insurance is already higher than the legal limit, so at this point…"

"Well that's a good way to look at it," she replied sarcastically. "At least you've mellowed out in your old age, you're no longer topping 100 in your car."

John smirked and couldn't help but take advantage of the opportunity, "That's because it's not _my_ car."

"Maybe it's best if I drive around from now on…"

"Oooh!" John yelled abruptly, slamming on his brakes and swerving to the right, causing Jessica's entire body to fly back and forth.

Unfortunately for John, she smacked her head into her window in the process.

"What the hell was that for?!?" she yelled loudly, rubbing the side of her head.

John put the car in park and pulled up the emergency break.

"I saw a Starbucks."

"Ugh," she shook her head furiously as she slammed the car door shut behind her in the parking lot.

Part of her couldn't stand his reckless driving, part of her hated his childish antics, but a part of her still loved reveling in her past. No matter where she was, 10 miles or 10,000 miles from West Newbury, as long as she was with John Cena, she always carried a piece of home with her.

"Pick your poison," John told her as they approached the counter.

"John, this isn't a bar. There's nothing I'm going to drink here that's going to get me wasted…"

"So it _is_ you?" the young brunette behind the counter piped up.

"Who?" Jessica's head tilted to the side at the young girl, not wanting to look like a moron if she was pegged as someone else by accident.

"Oh my God, it is you!" she smiled excitedly. "You're Jessica McMahon!"

"In the flesh," Jessica returned the girl's grin. "Nice to meet you."

"And you're John Cena!" she added, turning to John.

"The one and only," John replied cockily, turning on the charm.

"My little brother and I watch you guys every night. We absolutely love you two," she informed them.

"Well," John started, zoning in on her name tag, "Jackie, it's very nice to meet such a dedicated fan."

"It's nice to meet you too," she blushed. "Before my boss comes out and kills me, what can I get for you today…?"

"Jackie!" a voice rang out from the other side of the store.

"Crap, and there he is…"

"Why didn't you tell me that we had such famous guests," her boss grinned as he stepped across the room. "Andy, Andy Bell," he stated, extending a hand first to Jessica. "It's nice to meet you both."

"Wow," Jessica smiled as she shook Andy's hand, followed by John doing the same, "I didn't think we'd get recognized this late at night."

The pair talked to Jackie and Andy for what seemed like an hour, as they got into the depths of wrestling events, past and present. Soon, though, it was time for them to leave, as they had an early drive to Phoenix the next morning and they needed their sleep.

Jessica and John happily signed three posters of each of them, which Jackie had run over to the Modell's down the shopping center to purchase before it closed. The first one was for Jackie's little brother, the second was for Andy's son, and the third was to keep framed in the store. Lastly, they took a picture with Andy to keep underneath the posters in the store, as proof that they had been there.

Finally, though, they slipped into their car and drove off into the night.

* * *

"Can you believe how creepy that guy was?" John laughed as the doors to the elevator opened and let them onto their floor. "I swear, I think he kept staring down your shirt."

Jessica looked down at her black Fender tank top and blushed.

"I wasn't exactly popping out either," she grimaced.

"I don't really think he cared!" John replied in jest, nudging her a little bit.

"Shhh!" Jess hushed him with a finger to her lips. "You'll wake someone up."

"Oh come on," he waved her off, "It's only wrestlers up here. Plus, if we wake up Randy, he'll deserve it…"

"I know, but still…"

"Come on, Jessica," John folded his arms over his chest, trying to stop the grin creeping across his lips, "Who the hell gets drunk at fucking Applebees?"

"Alright, alright," she relented with a grin of her own and took a sip of her iced Caramel Macchiato. "That's pretty bad."

"Yeah, yeah it is," he laughed and took a swig of his hot cup of coffee.

"You know, aren't you supposed to be drinking Cristal at this time of night?" Jessica arched an eyebrow at him. "I mean, you're a rapper aren't you? Starbucks is soooo not gangsta."

"Did you just say 'gangsta?'" John's jaw dropped.

"Maybe I did…"

"Anyway…" he continued to laugh, "I hate the stuff. I'll take a bottle of Jager over Cristal any day of the week. Speaking of rapping, I've got a question for you?"

"Um," Jessica chuckled awkwardly, "I'm not exactly the authority on that…"

"You still play guitar, right?" he asked.

"Of course, but I don't see…"

"Well, you know the album that I just released? One of the studio's guitarists played all of the parts on the album and no one else seems to be able to do it," John began, "Do you think that you might be able to do it sometime. I mean, if we ever have a concert or anything and need someone to fill in…"

"Please," Jessica snorted at the comment, "They didn't call me the Guitar Goddess in college for nothing."

John rolled his eyes at her as they approached her hotel room that she was sharing with Randy, "You're such a butthead sometimes."

Jessica laughed and opened the door with her key card, "I believe butthead runs in _your_ family, not mine."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Todd Grisham and I'm standing here with Jessica McMahon," the dark-haired interviewer began, adjusting his glasses as there was a loud pop for the youngest McMahon child. "Jessica, over the last few weeks, it's been safe to say that you have been going through a rough time."

"It's sucked," she nodded, rubbing a hand over her face.

"Yes," Todd agreed with a nod of his own, "But since the infamous breakup with Edge, you've had an unlikely ally in the WWE Champ, John Cena."

Yet again, another loud pop.

"Right… I don't see where you're going with this, Todd."

"Well then, Jessica, I'm going to ask you what seems to be on the mind of everyone," he prefaced, "It seems as though you and Cena have known each other outside of the WWE. Care to explain?"

"John and I grew up next door to each other as kids," she replied in an easygoing tone. "Along the way, after college, we fell out of touch. I came here, to the WWE, and he moved out to California for a while. I hadn't seen him for five years before a few weeks ago," she added, placing her hands on her hips. "Explained enough for you, Grisham?"

"Yes, m'am," he replied nervously.

"Now if you don't mind, I have a match to worry about," Jessica stated with a slight hint of impatience. "I need to find Stratus and figure out what we're going to do with Lita and Victoria," she added and turned to walk away.

"Are you sure you're not going to find John Cena?" Todd muttered to himself, her back now turned.

Jessica whipped her head around and bore into him with a menacing stare.

"Mr. Grisham," she warned him through gritted teeth, "While I am a wrestler on this roster, I assure you that I am STILL one of the owners of World Wrestling Entertainment, and subsequently, YOUR boss, as well," Jessica continued, walking back towards Grisham and staring him down.

The McMahon in her blood had to show through sometime.

"I highly suggest that you remember that the next time you decide to undermine and/or disrespect me in any way. Just because I try not to follow the typical path of a McMahon, does not make me weak, nor does it make me a pushover," she gave him one last smoldering glance before turning and heading in the other direction.

* * *

"I don't care who starts off, Trish," Jessica replied as the camera captured her pacing back and forth in the women's locker room, "I just want _her._"

"I get it, Jess, I really do," the Canadian blonde assured her, "I just think it might be best if I locked up against Lita first. It'll allow you to focus on the match more…"

"I don't need your sloppy seconds, Trish," she interred nastily, but then quickly regretted her words. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just… I need to make her pay."

"And you will, Jessica, you will," Trish nodded, "But you need to be patient. She will get the best of you otherwise…"

A knock sounded on the door of the locker room and both women turned to look at the door in response.

"Come in," Trish answered first.

Moments later, the door creaked open and the blue stare of John Cena connected with that of Jessica McMahon and silence filled the room as he made his way through the doorway. Still, he never looked away from her.

"Well, uh…" Stratus began, looking between the two wrestlers, "I'm going to go find Maria. I think she has… some… eyeshadow of mine."

Jessica rolled her eyes at Trish's poor attempt to come up with an excuse to leave the room. Hell, she couldn't even blame her.

"I'll see you out there, okay?"

"Yeah," the youngest McMahon nodded as Trish exited the room.

An awkward silence hung in the room as the two childhood friends stared at each other in the middle of the room.

She didn't know what to think anymore. For years, she couldn't bare to see him, couldn't even think of trying to talk to him, or wanting to for that matter. Now, he was everywhere that she was and no matter what she wanted, John would always be around.

"Couldn't stay away, could you, Cena?" Jessica broke their gaze, shaking her head and walking in the direction of the bench.

"Still can't do it, can you?" John let out a disappointed laugh as he watched her every move.

"Can't do what?" she asked him, taking a seat on the thick wood panel.

"Say it. Call me by my first name."

"Okay… _John_," she smiled at him curtly.

"It's easy when you force yourself to," he stated smoothly.

"Did you come here to patronize me?" Jessica arched an eyebrow at him.

"I see The Rock did leave an impression on you," John added spitefully.

Jessica sucked in her breath sharply as her eyes watered slightly.

That was low, even for him. And he knew it.

"You know what, Cena? At least he was there!" she replied bitterly, her hazel eyes beginning to glaze over.

"Yeah, McMahon?" John stepped forward with a challenging glare. "And where is he now?"

Silence fell over Jessica for the first time as she continued to listen to him speak.

"In Hollywood. He left you behind, Jessica," he continued.

Jessica wiped away angrily at a tear that had fallen down her fair skin, gliding to the bottom of her cheekbone.

"You know what, Cena?" she shook head at him, infuriated with his behavior, "You're right. He did leave me behind and I never got over it. _Never_. But I always thought that someday, I would, yet that was ripped away from me, as well. Tonight," she threw her hands up in the air as the tears began to flow freely, "That was the furthest thing from my mind, but you… you just had to bring it back. As if I didn't have enough on my plate," Jessica added angrily, wiping away at her cheeks as she stood up. "What was the point of that, Cena? Did you just want to make me miserable?"

"Jess, I…"

"Just shut up, Cena. Shut up already," she seethed at him, her body tensing up. "Last week, I cried for the first time in front of someone. Please, I'm not kidding myself… I've cried everyday since I found out, but never in front of anymore before. You told me that I wouldn't have to go through this alone, yet just when I began to open up, you closed the door on me, but guess what, John?" Jessica tilted her chin up high, her nostrils slightly flaring in anger.

John could only wince at her use of his first name, deliberately used to sting him like he had stung her.

"Now it's my turn to close the door on you," she began, ripping the door open, "And leave you standing here, _alone_."

John jumped slightly as the door slammed shut, with such force that things fell off the shelves in the locker room.

He had fucked it all up… once again.

* * *

_When they finally come to destroy the earth, they'll have to go through you first…_

Jessica tore through the curtain and down the ramp to meet her tag partner in the ring like a bat fresh out of Hell.

She skipped right over her trademark pose at the top of the ramp. She passed the fans whom she normally greeted with hi-fives.

Jessica McMahon was a woman on a mission: revenge, with a capital R.

But as she passed over the first level area of ground, Lita crawled out from beneath the ring, with a chair in her hand.

The noise of the crowd was so loud, and combined with her music, Jessica couldn't make out exactly what Trish was yelling.

As the steel connected with her spine, she finally realized exactly what Trish Stratus had been yelling: "behind you."

She fell to her knees in pain and felt another shot course through her body as a mop of blonde, stringy hair appeared beside the blurred crimson above her.

_Edge._

She saw the steel pass over her head, but lost sight of it.

Another chair shot hit her again.

Apparently, it was now behind her.

The crowd roared to life again and Jessica heard the familiar sound of a chair smashing against a ringpost, steel on steel, and then the drop of the chair to the floor.

* * *

"Are you okay?" a voice asked softly into her ear as she struggled to lie still on her stomach, balanced on an examination bench, at the urging of an EMT who wanted to inspect her spine.

"Now… you… want to be… here again?" she hissed loudly through her teeth, each breath sharper than the last as he ran his hands over a sensitive spot.

"I don't want to be here again, I want to be here for good," he replied sincerely, rubbing a hand over his hair. "I didn't mean what I said before. I was being a jackass, I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yes," he nodded furiously. "I do, Jess. Look, you can't do this alone anymore, looking over your shoulder in case Lita… or Edge… or anyone else is there. You couldn't do it back then and you can't do it now."

"I don't need your pity…"

"I'm not doing this because I'm pitying you, Jessica," he eyed her carefully. "I'm doing it because I don't want to see you get hurt again. I should have been there to protect you a long time ago and I failed. I won't fail again."

Silence passed over her for the second time that night, leaving her to gather her thoughts for a minute.

Once again, the EMT hit a sore spot and she breathed in sharply, but soon relaxed again.

"You promise… you won't pick up and leave again?" she asked suddenly, turning her head to the side and facing him.

John smiled for a moment. Finally, his best friend trusted him again.

They were back to kicking ass and taking names.

And those names were Lita and Edge.

* * *

"Why, King," J.R. boomed into his headset, "I believe that I'm just getting word that Jessica McMahon is now under the care of medics in the back. It appears that she is talking and able to sit up a little bit, so they suspect it is just some bruising."

"Edge nearly ruined a perfectly good set of puppies!" Lawler exclaimed.

"That's not all he nearly ruined. The medics are saying that if she had sustained a few more chair shots, she might have fractured something in her spine," Ross shook his head in disgust. "How two people could betray someone like that and nearly paralyze her…"

_Well, I'm back… and I'm better than ever._

"Looks like Eric Bischoff has something to say, as well, J.R.!" Jerry added enthusiastically. "I wonder what it's about."

"I don't know, King, but considering it's Bischoff," he began, "It can't be good."

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," Eric announced, gripping his microphone tightly in the center of the ring, "I have just been informed that Jessica McMahon is doing just fine, but she has been cautioned not to wrestle for the next two weeks."

The entire audience booed at the notion that one of their favorite divas would not be participating in any matches for a couple of weeks.

"I know, I know!" he replied to the noise in a fake voice of concern. "But that's not why I came out here tonight. I came out here to say that in two weeks from tonight… Jessica will be participating in a match."

"What? That's too soon!" J.R. stated in shock. "She could seriously hurt herself, King!"

"With one week to go until Summerslam, it will be Edge and Lita in one corner, facing off against Lita's opponent in her Summerslam match," Bischoff smirked and pulled the microphone away from his lips to create a dramatic effect, "Jessica McMahon..."

The crowd began to yell loudly at the possibility of seeing Jessica beat the living hell out of her former best friend."

"… And Edge's opponent for that night, as well… the WWE Champion, John Cena!"

If it was possible, the crowd had gotten even louder as Bischoff booked a match of enormous proportions.

He dropped his microphone to the mat with a loud thud and left the crowd still cheering as he made his way to the back.

* * *

_Dear Jessica,_

_Can you believe that they made Kurt the freakin' General Manager of Smackdown?!? As if my night couldn't get any worse, he has to be named the man who ultimately controls my fate on the show. Fucking awesome._

_Apparently, now… there's going to be a Great American tournament or some bull like that._

_I don't know… my worst enemy now runs the show. I don't really care. So, uh… any room on RAW?_

_- John_

Jessica sighed as she put down the book on the right side of her bed and flinched.

"Need help?"

Her head turned towards the door sharply and caused a surge of pain to travel through her neck.

"Wait, don't move…"

"John," she waved him off as he walked towards her, "I'm fine. I can do it…" she tried to assure her friend, attempting to prop herself up to a sitting position.

"Yeah… no," he shook his head at her, grabbing a hold of her arm and pulling her upward. "What are you trying to do?"

"Get to the bathroom…" she laughed half-heartedly.

"I'll help you," he laughed in return at her reason for getting out of bed, "Get to the bathroom, I mean."

John sat down beside her and grabbed onto her wrist, sliding it over his right shoulder and onto his left. He lightly wrapped his right arm around her waist and lifted her to her feet.

"You okay?"

"Mhmm…" she nodded with a wince.

Obviously, she wasn't.

He walked her to the bathroom door and opened it.

"Do you want me to go get Amy… or Trish?" he asked her as she made her way onto the cool tile of the bathroom.

"No, John," she chuckled at his awkwardness, "I think I can handle this on my own."

"R-right," he replied quickly and pulled the bathroom door shut.

John sat back down on the bed as he waited for her, in case she needed him. Once she came back out, he'd let her rest for a while and leave her to sleep. After all, she had needed it.

"Hey, how's she doing?" a voice called to him from the doorway.

"Oh, hey, Orton," John replied as he looked at his friend across the room, "She's alright, I think. Still in a lot of pain… probably for the next couple of days, but she's tough."

"And where is she now?" Randy asked him, searching the room.

"Oh, Jess? She's under the bed," he replied with a false tone of seriousness. "It's interesting to see the things that she can…"

Taking notice of his less-than-amused stare, John quickly decided to drop the joke.

"In the bathroom."

"Poor girl," Randy shook his head. "I think Adam's last shot did her in. He feels terrible, actually; pretty torn up about it."

"He only did what he was told," John replied with a shrug.

"I guess," he replied with a sigh. "Look, I'll take care of her from here. She needs her sleep, I'll call you later and we'll figure out what the carpool situation is for the morning, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," John nodded and got up from the bed. "I'll see you later, man. Tell her goodnight for me, okay?"

"No problem," Randy smiled as he passed him in the small corridor to the door, "Hey, Jess?" he called to her, accompanied by a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" she answered as the sink turned on in the bathroom.

"I'm here now, but John's leaving. He says goodbye…"

"Bye, John!" she called to him brightly.

"Bye, Jess," he laughed at her cheery tone and glanced around the room one last time.

His gaze wandered around the room aimlessly before it settled on Jessica's bed. There, on the floral blanket, nearly hidden underneath one of its folds, laid a deep brown leather book, worn by time and travel.

John pulled open the door and turned around to shut it behind him, but he couldn't help but take one more look at the room as his view became obstructed by the door and a knowing smile passed across his lips.

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter was a lengthy one because I hadn't gotten around to posting it the other night, as I completely forgot, and I owed you guys for my 100+ reviews. **

**Sorry this one wasn't as journal-driven as the other ones, but I'm setting later chapters up. Don't worry, in my mind… it all makes sense. Hehe.**

**Let me know what you think because, as usual, I do care about what you think.**

**Holla: goddessofhtenite, MissPhilippinesSuperStar, nic-002001, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, ginny-potter-07, Sammy91, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, writethisdown4you, ChainGangQueen4Life, and dj-ssdd.**

**It might take a little longer to get the next chapter up because I'm still deciding whether I want to have a few RAW's go by in one to get to the match, or save that for a little later. You know what? Tell me what you think.**

**Oh, and Chapter 18 is where I plan to end the journal entries because it's getting hard to keeping coming up with more stuff based on the history of Smackdown. Honestly, I think my memory is pretty good when it comes to episodes of Smackdown, don't you think? My memory is starting to fail me a little, as I was kind of removed from the WWE for a few months around Christmas time 2004, but I've been watching episodes that I've been tracking down, so it's all good!**

**By the way, in case you were wondering, Jessica has a new theme song. I don't know if you guys noticed that Celebrity Skin had been replaced in the story. After her breakup with Edge, I decided that she needed a new one, however, she will be obtaining at least one more before the end of the story. Her new theme, for now, is Invincible by OkGo.**

**Oooh! I forgot my cryptic little hint: the April 4****th**** entry will mark an important event in John's journal. And no, he doesn't confess his love for her… so there.**

**I know, I'm evil, but if you review… you will receive. The faster you review, and the more reviews I receive, the more inspired I become to continue writing. Think about it.**

** Danielle **


	17. Chapter 17

_Dear Jess,_

_Can you believe it? Me? The US Champion?!?_

_I know, it's hard for me to believe either!_

_It seems like it was just yesterday that you took me to my first pay-per-view and now, I'm guaranteed to be defending it on one! It's such a rush._

_Alright, enough writing… I need to go drinking. I'll write more tomorrow._

* * *

Jessica placed the book on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. No matter what she did tonight, she just couldn't fall asleep. 

When she was younger, Diana had always urged her to read when she couldn't sleep. Over the years she had read everything she could get her hands on. At a younger age, her favorite book had been Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but by the time she had turned 11, Jessica had read all three Lord of the Rings books in the trilogy.

Throughout high school, all of her English teachers could count on mentioning a book, one that usually went unread by the general student body, which Jessica counted among her favorites.

John's journal, however, was not one of the books that would allow her to go to sleep like all of the years before. While each chapter of her favorite novels ended with a cliffhanger she could usually sleep without knowing, the journal was different.

The main character, the protagonist, walked among her. He was her best friend.

She anticipated the day she could finish his three years of memoirs and truly pick up where she had left off after her grandmother's death and his brother's wedding.

With a sigh, Jessica once again lifted the leather book off of her sore body and resumed her reading.

* * *

_Can you believe this? He took my title from me! Kurt FREAKING Angle took my US Title away from me?_

Jessica laughed at this entry. Apparently, he had been so infuriated by the conditions under which he had been stripped of his US Title, that he had skipped his usually heading.

_I didn't even knock him over on purpose. I swear! All of the things I have done to Kurt in my lifetime on purpose and the one time it's an accident, I lose my title. _

_God, this sucks._

_- John_

_PS: I still miss you._

_

* * *

Dear Jessica,_

_So I got my title back and all is well, for now, but I must tell you a little secret… I'm vacating it in a little while._

_I know exactly how it's going to transpire, so I basically just wanted to give you a heads up to assure you that the scene in the bar is going to be entirely planned. I know that even you, who has grown up around the business, can acknowledge that sometimes things don't exactly go as planned. cough Montreal Screwjob. cough_

_The good news, however, is that I'm leaving to film a movie for WWE films and it's going to be with Kelly Carlson, from Nip/Tuck, and Robert Patrick! From the Terminator 2! How awesome is that?_

_It's going to be called The Marine, and I play the main character, John Triton._

_Stop laughing, they made it Triton on purpose as a joke to annoy me. I am fully aware that the Triton school district is going to have a field day with this, but guess who's kicking ass in the WWE and isn't sitting behind a stupid desk? We are._

_I'm off to the gym this morning, so I'll write more in the next day or so._

_- John_

_

* * *

Dear Jess,_

_I'm just writing to assure you that I am alive and well, even after being "stabbed" by__ Jesús__. Tomorrow morning, I fly out to Australia to film, so for a little while you're only going to be receiving filming updates. Sorry._

_By the way, I saw the fall you took through a table the other night during the tag match with Orton against Batista, Flair, and Gail. I'm sure Dave isn't the gentle type. I hope that didn't hurt too much._

_- John_

_

* * *

_Jessica reread his statement about being put through a table. 

That night was extremely vivid in her mind and she could actually feel the splinters cutting her back again as Dave Batista powerbombed her through the unforgiving table.

She didn't even know which hurt worse now, being put through the table or being smashed in the back repeatedly with a steel chair.

Either way: she was in pain.

* * *

_Hey Jess,_

_Like my new US spinner belt? I do._

* * *

"Jessica," she heard a voice softly calling to her as a hand shook her awake. 

"Go away, Randy," she moaned, not wanting to get up as she pulled a pillow over her face.

"You need to get up, we have a flight to catch!"

"I said, go away!" she replied through her pillow as she turned over and buried her head underneath this time.

"You know what," Randy leered over her, "You asked for this…"

Without warning, he ripped off her blanket and left her pink tank top and black Soffee shorts-clad body susceptible to the cold air conditioning in the room.

"Ugh!" she screamed in disgust, reaching for the covers that were no longer there.

Finally, she decided to roll out of bed, only to fall onto the floor and writhe in pain.

"Oh shit, Jess…" he scrambled to help her off of the floor.

"No, get away from me, Randy," she ordered him through gritted teeth. "Go get someone else… someone other than you."

"I'm sorry…"

"Just please go get someone else!" she cut him off abruptly.

* * *

John sat on the edge of his bed, his foot propped up on a chair in front of him in an effort to tie his sneaker. As he finished the knot on the first shoe, a knock sounded on his door. 

"Who is it?" he asked, switching to his right leg.

"Randy… can you just open the door?" the younger man asked impatiently from the other side.

"Yeah, man. Let me just tie my other sneaker…" John replied as he knotted his other Reebok sneaker and got up to open the door.

As soon as he opened it, he caught sight of a slightly uneasy looking Randy Orton.

"Hey, what's up?" John asked him, rubbing a hand over his shorn hair.

"Here," Randy answered simply, thrusting his green room key towards him, "Go deal with her. I already took all of our luggage downstairs. She only needs to get changed and take her carryon bag with her."

"Um…" he stared at the card in his hands and then looked up to find Randy already on his way to the elevator at the end of the hallway. "Okay."

* * *

Jessica laid on the floor for about ten minutes and then decided to take matters into her own hands. Slowly, she reached for Randy's messy bed and began to claw at it, hoping to get a good grip on it. 

Deciding that the tactic wouldn't work, she attempted a different approach. She grabbed onto the nightstand separating their beds and then pulled herself to her knees.

Jessica hadn't anticipated the task taking this long, and while her back hurt significantly less, it still hurt like hell and the lack of help wasn't… well… helping, at all.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, killer," a voice halted her in her tracks as a pair of arms grasped her forearms and pulled her to her feet. "That's not going to help you much, now is it?"

She shook her head and smiled up at her assistant, "Oh, my hero…" she laughed. "First you save me from Edge, now you save me from myself. Whatever would I do without you?"

"At the rate you're going?" John raised his eyebrows at her. "Paralyze yourself."

"Oh, how lovely," she snorted at the notion. "What brings you here?"

"Apparently, you were giving Nurse Orton a hard time," he shot her a stern look.

"He made me fall off of the bed!" Jessica protested his scolding. "He ripped off the blanket with me in it!"

"No wonder he's not a doctor by now. Always a nurse and never a doctor," he laughed and handed her carryon bag. "You need to get changed. We have to be out of here in less than an hour, so move your ass."

"Alright, alright, John," she rolled her eyes at him. "Turn around and close your eyes."

"What?"

"Face the wall and close your eyes," she repeated again. "I'm going to get changed."

"Fine," he smirked slightly and turned to face the wall.

A few minutes later, Jessica tapped him on the shoulder, "You can turn around now."

"You sure?" John asked her, still facing the beige wall. "Because if you're not fully clothed, I really don't want to lose any appendages of my body that I might consider relatively important…"

She rolled her eyes at him, "I'm sure."

"Good," he nodded and picked up her carryon bag from the floor. "Let's go."

* * *

John pressed his thumb to the black wheel of his I-Pod, shifting the playlist forward a song. 

On long plane rides, the music kept him occupied more than anything else ever could. He had tried everything, from movies, to the occasional fitness magazine, to the drowsy kind of Dramamine. Nothing worked besides the music.

Suddenly, though, one of his ear buds were ripped out of his ear and he turned to look into the eyes of Randy Orton.

"Hey, man, got a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," John nodded, pulling his carryon onto the floor beneath the seat.

Fortunately, he wasn't stuck sitting near a stranger on the plane and had some alone time in a row by himself.

Unfortunately, he was in the back of the plane, next to the propellers.

And it was loud as all hell.

"Look," Randy began, taking a seat beside his friend, "I need to talk to you about something."

John stared at Randy with a puzzled look. Seriousness was not his style.

"Sure, shoot," he replied.

"So, I was informed a little while ago that I'm jumping rosters," Randy stated softly, a slight look of sadness in his eyes.

"That sucks, Orton," John shook his head, "I'm sorry. But hey, at least it won't be until you're fully recovered, right?" he added, trying to cheer up his friend.

"See, here's the thing…" Randy trailed off, fiddling with a non-existent thread on his black basketball shorts, "I went to the doctor back in June, the day before the draft."

"So… what did he say?"

"He told me that I would be cleared for physical activity in four weeks," Randy replied, avoiding his friend's gaze and staring at his knees. "And uh… that's next week."

"Shit, man," John rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me before? Does Jessica know?"

"No, I didn't want to burden her," he leaned back in the chair, rubbing his hands through his hair.

"You've gotta tell her sometime, Randy…" John warned him.

"I know, I know," he replied defensively, "I'm working on it, trust me. I mean, how do you just tell someone you're up and leaving them on such short notice?"

"Believe me," John replied with a snort, "I am DEFINITELY not the one to answer that question."

"Maybe not," Randy nodded in understanding, "But can you do me a favor, John?"

"Yeah, whatever you need, you know I'm always here for you, man," he answered with a nod of his own.

"Take care of Jessica," Randy replied, pressing his lips together tightly, "Look after her for me, okay? She'll never admit it to anyone, but she needs someone to watch out for her. She tries too hard to be strong and independent that she pushes away the help she really needs."

"Yeah, of course, Randy," John nodded, "You know I will."

"That's why I asked you," he smiled in relief. "Just… don't tell her, alright? I want to do it myself."

"You've got it, man," John agreed.

"Thanks, John," Randy replied, shaking John's hand and bumping chests with his friend in a masculine understanding, "I appreciate it."

"Anytime."

"I'm going to go check on her now, actually. She was sleeping when I left her, but I was pacing the aisles for a while before I came back here."

"Yeah, definitely," he waved Randy forward, "Go take care of that. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

John watched as his longtime friend disappeared down the aisle, towards the front of the plane, and sighed deeply as he stared out the window at the night sky.

It had been bad enough getting Jessica downstairs at seven in the morning, but her mood had soured even more once they hit traffic, yet again when the plan was delayed due to poor weather conditions. Thirteen hours after their day had begun, they were finally in flight.

Tonight would certainly be a bad night to tell her. Then again, even if Randy told her another night, she might not react much better. After all, John did know from experience.

And Randy? Not so much.

* * *

_Dear Jess,_

_Tonight is most likely one of the biggest nights of my life. It's only the beginning of what promises to be an amazing experience, though, and I hope Wrestlemania will mark an even better night than this one._

_This evening, I became the number one contender to JBL's WWE Title._

_Can you believe it, Jessica? It was only nine years ago that I stood in the ring in the empty Civic Center. Hopefully, at Wrestlemania, I can stand in the ring, in front of the sea of people, and hold up that title belt nine years later._

_It just seems so damn surreal to me that it's now a possibility._

_I'm just speechless… for once._

_- John_

* * *

"You awake?" 

"Yeah," she nodded, closing the journal over her finger, now sandwiched between pages. "I woke up when you left a little while ago."

"Sorry about that," Randy apologized, rubbing the back of his neck as he towered over her. "Guess I should have sat on the outside."

"It's okay," she assured him, replacing her finger with a Delta napkin. "I got to catch up on some reading," she reminded him, holding up John's journal as evidence.

"Where are you up to now?" he asked, leaning onto her armrest, his right arm accidentally brushing against her shoulder.

"Um…" she trailed off as she scooted over towards the window, searching her mind for the date, "March 7, 2005."

"Ah…" Randy nodded, "Getting closer to the present, huh?"

"Yep," Jessica smiled over at him, "Not much more to go."

"So what's your opinion now?" he asked curiously.

"It's hard to make much of it, really," she shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I love reading his stories and his jokes, but it's nothing out of character. Hell, sometimes I can picture his face and what is probably looked like as he was writing some of his entries. I just still feel weird that there was this whole new life he was creating for himself and I wasn't around for it, yet with this… it's like I'm on the outside, looking in."

"Kind of like… an out of body experience?" Randy offered.

"Sort of, I guess."

Her friend nodded in understanding and thought things over for a moment.

"So what's going to happen when you finish it?" he asked.

"That's a good question," she chortled. "I wish I knew the answer, though. I just don't know for sure, Randy," she added honestly, propping her head up on the limb leaning on her armrest, "I hope that we can go on with our lives, try to get back to the way we were."

"It sounds like a good plan to me, Jess," he agreed, reclining his seat back.

"Me too," Jessica smiled at him. "Get some sleep though, alright? It's easier to heal when your body is well-rested."

"Yeah…" Randy flashed her a forced grin in return.

God, he felt so guilty hiding this from her.

"You're probably right," he added. "Just do me a favor, okay?"

"And what is that? If it has to do with the mile-high club…" Jessica warned him.

"No, don't be stupid," he scoffed at her. "If you have to go to the bathroom, wake me up… _on purpose_. I don't want it to be a repeat of last week's misplaced foot," he cringed at the thought.

"Ugh," her upper lip curled in disgust, "What is it with you men and your… appendages today? You're such babies!"

"What do you women know about pain?" he shot back defensively.

Jessica responded with a sharp smack on his arm.

"Ow!"

"Other than how to inflict it?" she arched an eyebrow at him. "It's called childbirth, dipshit."

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took longer than normal, but I was away at my grandparents' for a few days. Don't worry though, they live up in a little bungalow in the mountains of New York and it rained constantly, so I was stuck inside the house all day. But you know what that means...**

**MORE WRITING!**

**And now that I've written all of Chapter 18 and the majority of 19, I'm going to give you some incentive to review. As soon as I hit… 12 reviews (and I know you guys have it in you!), I will post 18.**

**Chapter 18 includes a few things: the end of the journal, the special date of April 4****th ****revealed, and Randy dropping the bomb.**

**This is a chapter that is NOT to be missed and I want you guys to post those reviews ASAP. **

**(Update on 8/24)_New note, folks. I feel kind of bad about putting up a quota because I don't like it when people do it in their stories to me. So, as of now, I will post in the next few days. Honestly, I usually post after about 10 reviews because then I know I've gotten my regular reviewers opinions by then. Look for an update in the coming days._**

**After you read the chock-full of fun Chapter 18, you won't hate me anymore.**

**I appreciate: Chenai, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, ginny-potter-07, nic-002001, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Adrian Jade, dj-ssdd, Zadok, and Chain Gang Princess!**

**Like always, feed the feedback monster and review! I mean it this time!**

**Danielle **


	18. Chapter 18

_This chapter is dedicated to my best friend, Julia, newly college-bound, who has supported me throughout this entire process and been on my case constantly to update. My quick pace in updates is largely attributed to her, so she's the one you should thank for that. _

_This one's for you, babe._

* * *

They'd been in East Rutherford for the past two days in anticipation of Jessica's tag match with John. This match excited her more than anything at the moment, as it would be the first time she'd wrestle with John since their ring consisted of the backyard grass and imaginary ropes when they were twelve.

It was almost equally as fitting that she was reaching the end of his journal, as well. It would mark the end of one part of her life and the beginning of a chapter that had yet to be written.

With a few hours to kill before the show began, Jessica plopped down onto the couch in her dressing room, clutching John's journal.

_Dear Jess,_

_I did it. I won. My dream of becoming the WWE Champion, the top dog… is reality._

_God, it feels so good to be on top and looking outwards instead of up all the time. The rush I had as I was handed my title belt for the first time was… indescribable. It was absolutely amazing. I couldn't help but be brought to my knees._

_While it was good to be a heel for a while, it was even better to feel the love tonight… and falling into the crowd after the match made me feel so proud to be here, in the WWE, and of what I've done in life._

_As I sit here and watch the clock strike midnight, I can't help but think of you, though. I'm sorry that you left as soon as Edge's match was over to hop the last flight back to Boston for the night. I would really have loved to see the girl who started the dream in the first place and wish her Happy Birthday, even though it'd be a bit early._

_Since it's now midnight, here in California, I guess I'm right on Pacific Time, so… Happy Birthday, Jessica! I promise, next birthday… it'll be you and me again, just like old times. Nine years without a birthday celebration shared is much too long._

_I miss you, Birthday Girl!_

_- John_

* * *

A lone tear scraped down Jessica's cheek as she reread the journal entry again. 

Her birthday was well over three months ago, but it didn't matter. This was the best present she could have received.

"Um… Jess," a redhead appeared in her doorway.

"Hmm? Oh, what's up, Ames?" she asked, quickly wiping away the tear from her face.

"It's about your Harley…" Amy trailed off nervously.

"My Harley?" Jessica furrowed her eyebrows.

For her 27th birthday, Randy, Adam, Amy, and a bunch of other superstars had chipped in to buy her a brand new Harley Davidson.

Growing up, Jessica had ridden ATV's and dirt bikes with her favorite neighbors and had always gone riding on Jeff's spares when the WWE rolled into the Carolinas. Sometimes, they even drove six hours to go riding in Cameron.

Jessica often referred to her bike as her baby. The jet black Harley Davidson with purple and green flames was one of her most prized possessions and it traveled with her on the road in the equipment vans. Often, during pay-per-views, it traveled with Marl Calaway's chopper, as well.

Fans could often spot her rolling around the parking lot in her matching helmet, which bore the word "Rebel" in jade-colored, Old English style writing on the back, in between the flames, as well as her black leather riding jacket.

"What about it?" she asked the nervous women.

"It's missing… it's not in the can it's supposed to be in," she cringed as the words left her lips.

"What?!?"

* * *

"Jess," Randy caught a hold of her arm as she breezed past him in the hallway, causing her to whip backwards towards him, "I need to talk to you." 

"Not now, Randy," she shook him off, "Some jackass lost my bike. I'm trying to hunt it down now. If you want to help me look, I guess we can talk after we figure out what the hell is going on."

"Yeah," he nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets, "I'll help you look."

* * *

"What do you mean it won't be here for another hour?!?" she yelled at the equipment coordinator. 

"Look, Miss McMahon," the man with grey hair, glasses, and brown eyes addressed her calmly, "There was a mix up loading the vans in Sacramento. The van which currently possesses your motorcycle was cleared to leave for the evening, as it is usually a pyro van."

"Where exactly _is_ my van, Mike?" Jessica continued to press him.

"Well, that I can't exactly say… all I know," Mike swallowed nervously and adjusted his collar as the cameraman zoomed in on the conversation, "Is that your bike is on its way."

Jessica sighed in real-life frustration. The cameras had only shown up at the start of her and Randy's conversation in the hallway. She guessed that her father thought this might make good TV.

Worse, her bike really was missing.

"It better be, Mike!" she bellowed as Randy placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Jess, calm down, it will be," he assured her kindly.

"Ugh," she sighed. "You're probably right, Randy. Look, Mike, when it arrives, just put my stuff by the A/V truck and have a guard by it."

"Will do, Miss McMahon," he nodded and walked off, still lucky to have his head firmly on his shoulders.

"So, Orton," Jessica turned to her best friend, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah… about that. Maybe we shouldn't do that out here…"

* * *

"King, the night isn't starting out too well for young Jessica McMahon," J.R. concluded as they appeared back on the screen. 

"You can say that again, J.R.," Lawler concurred. "Every WWE Superstar knows how much Jessica loves that bike."

"Well, folks, I don't think that's the biggest of Jessica's problems tonight," he added, segwaying to the next topic.

"No, it certainly is not," his partner continued, "Because, with a majorly injured back, Jessica will be tagging with John Cena against Edge and Lita in an Intergender Tag Match."

"This means that Lita can face off against John…" the Oklahoma native began.

"…Or Jessica can face off against Edge."

* * *

Jessica finished the June 4th entry of the journal and turned to the last entry when the door opened. 

"Hey," the green-eyed man greeted her.

"Hey, Randy," she smiled at him forcedly. "What's up?"

Truth be told, the cameras were rolling and this wasn't in the script, so she was a little uneasy.

"I just needed to talk to you, Jess," he replied, his normally shining eyes clouded by seriousness.

"Okay, shoot…"

"Well," Randy replied, taking a seat beside her, moving the journal onto her lap, which was soon pocketed in her jacket on the arm of the couch, "I've been putting this off for a while now and I can't put it off anymore…"

"Oh my God," Jessica's face dropped noticeably, "Randy, are you sick?"

"No, no," he shook his head and waved the notion off, "Actually, quite the opposite. Last month, I was told when I'd be cleared to wrestle again…"

"So when are you coming back?" she straightened up excitedly, cutting him off.

She was _not _making this easy for him.

"Next week…"

"Oh, Randy!" she threw her arms around him and smiled. She'd finally have her best friend back on the road with her again fulltime.

"No, Jess. Wait," Randy halted her, pushing her backwards gently. "I won't be wrestling here…"

"What… what are you talking about?" she tilted her head to the side.

"I'm moving to Smackdown, Jess," he looked down sadly.

"But how…"

"I was drafted on June 6th, third in the draft overall."

"Whend did… when did you find out?" Jessica sked him, tears beginning to brim in her eyes.

"June 6th," he replied, avoiding her gaze.

Jessica heard the words echo in her ears, but she couldn't make a sound.

This wasn't for TV, this wasn't scripted. This was real life. All of this time, he had hidden this from her.

Soon her sadness was replaced by fury.

"You mean to tell me, you knew about this, Randy?!?"

"I tried to tell you, Jess," Randy answered quickly, "I swear!" he added in his defense, placing his hand on her arm.

"No!" Jessica yelled at him, pushing him off of her body, disgusted by his touch, and stood up. "Get off of me!"

"Jess…"

"No, Randy!" she seethed. "All of these years, I have told you everything. I poured my heart out to you about John… and how I was so hurt by his deceptions and his broken promises, yet you went and did the same exact thing!"

"Jess, please…" Randy stood up to meet her. "It's not like that!"

"You're right, Randy," she replied, her eyes filled with rage. "At least he had the balls to own up to it in the end."

"Just let me explain…"

"I think you've done enough for one night, Mr. Orton," Jessica shook her head at him and pointed towards the door. "Leave."

"But, Jessica," he approached her yet again, his emerald eyes filled with regret, "Just let me explain…"

Instead of acknowledging his attempts, she simply turned her head and looked away.

Realizing she had nothing left to say to him and he no longer could offer a chance to redeem himself, Randy dejectedly walked out the door.

* * *

The creaking door of Jessica's music echoed through the arena as the infuriated Diva made her way out of the curtain in a black wrestling top and matching black pants, with the word "Rebel" written down the side in green. 

She was no longer her usually exuberant self. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on Edge and Lita in the ring, as she halted at the bottom of the ramp.

Soon, horns cut through her music and the WWE champ burst through the curtains to a loud pop. After a minute of playing to the crowd, he joined her at ringside.

He glanced at their opponents and then placed a hand on her shoulder, lowering his head to her ear, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied through gritted teeth. "Let's just kick some ass so I can go home."

"You're the boss," he nodded and walked up the steel steps, protectively staying ahead of her at all times.

Jessica followed John up the steps and watched as she handed the ref his dog tags and his belt.

John and Edge both took their spots in the corner apprehensively as the two women moved towards each other in the middle of the ring. Soon, they were nose to nose, talking trash.

It didn't last long, however, as Lita slapped her former friend hard across the face. Jessica laughed once, her head still fixed towards the side.

Suddenly, she whipped back around and shoved Lita hard to the ground, mounting her to land numerous forearms to the jaw.

Jessica pulled her to her feet again and threw her into the ropes for a hellacious clothesline. Lita got to her feet warily and the youngest McMahon headed for the ropes, only to have Edge pull her down by the hair.

With John yelling from the corner, Lita took the opportunity to land some chops in the corner. She then led her back to the center of the ring, where she landed a scoop slam.

The redhead leered over her, taunting her for a moment, but unbeknownst to her, she had given Jessica an opportunity to recover.

Jessica had gotten to her feet and bounced off the ropes just as Lita had ricocheted off the opposite set across the ring. It soon became clear that both women had a similar idea as each attempted a swinging neckbreaker and after their bodies connected, fell to their backs on the canvas floor.

The crowd roared as Nick Patrick started his ten count. At around 5, Jessica and Lita began crawling to their respective corners and made the hot tag.

John began to unleash a fury upon Edge, knocking him down with three clotheslines in a row. He brought him to the corner and landed a few chops on him.

As John moved in closer to prepare to whip Edge into the other corner, the Rated-R superstar raked his eyes.

From there on, Edge was in control. He intentionally locked an abdominal stretch on John directly in front of Jessica as he taunted her.

Fortunately, the WWE Champ countered, but from there, it turned into an all out brawl.

Minutes later, locked together, John and Edge hurtled towards Jessica's side of the rung. Knowing what would likely come next, she slapped John's back, just before he and Edge sailed over the top rope.

Lita took this as a signal to get in the ring too and she charged at her nemesis. Jessica quickly took care of Lita as she landed a boot to the midsection and tossed her out of the ring, sailing in-between the top and middle ropes towards the announcers' table.

Apparently, Edge's experience in TLC matches had allowed him to recover quickly, while John still lay outside the ring.

Jessica turned around to see Edge, with his back towards her, taunting her partner and best friend. Thinking quickly, she rushed the corner turnbuckle and stood atop of it. Just as Edge turned around, Jessica took flight and landed a shooting star press, knocking him to the mat.

He rolled over to his stomach in pain and she smirked over his body. Hurriedly, she stepped in-between his legs, folded them into a triangle, and bridged backwards, locking her hands around his neck. A second later, Edge found himself in the Blackout, an inverted STF.

Jessica pulled upwards with all of her strength. She thought about Randy's lies and her missing bike, the empty feeling in her heart, and she held on for dear life.

She could hear yelling and closed her eyes tight. Soon, she felt his body growing weaker by the second. It wasn't until the bell had rung that Jessica knew he had tapped out and it was over.

Her night was finally over.

"Oh my God, King! Jessica just made Edge tap! Edge just tapped to the Blackout!" 

"Never mess with a woman scorned, J.R.!"

* * *

Jessica didn't even want to stick around to celebrate her and John's victory, which unfortunately meant that he'd have to be celebrating on camera for longer than anticipated. Instead, she quickly retreated to the back, the camera's following her to kill time as she made her way to her dressing room. 

She burst through the door and began rummaging through her things, finally deciding to grab a change of clothes.

"Jessica," Trish Stratus burst through the door, "Don't leave like this."

"I have to go, Trish," Jessica replied, slipping behind a changing divider and shedding her clothes.

"You don't, Jess. I'm sure there's a good explanation as to why…" she trailed off, running a hand through her blonde hair.

"No, there isn't," the younger woman replied with a sigh as she emerged from behind the curtain in dark blue jeans, black tank, and leather riding jacket. "Look, Trish," she began, as she sat down on the couch to slide on her black boots, "I just… I just have to figure some things out for myself," she added, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"I always am," Jessica nodded and opened the door, "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah… later."

* * *

The camera crew continued to trail her through the corridors of the Continental Airlines Arena as her blonde tresses waved behind her at her fast pace. Finally, she approached the A/V truck. 

Sure enough, there was a guard, watching over her most prized possession.

"Thanks," she smiled at him in relief.

The burly man nodded and walked away, closing the aluminum sliding door and locking it as Jessica furiously strapped her bag into the seat behind her own. She tested it to make sure it was secure and once satisfied, slipped on her helmet, and revved up the engine.

After releasing the kickstand, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her right him and her hand immediately flew to it, coming in contact with something solid.

She reached into her pocket, knowingly and pulled out John's last journal.

One last entry to go, June 6, 2005.

At this point, she had already decided that she had sent the show to hell, so why not let John do what he did best and keep the cameras on him? Better yet, why not kill the curious cat inside her and read it all already?

Slowly, she removed her helmet, placing it on her handlebar, and flipped to the page.

_Dear Jessica,_

_Tonight, you have no idea that I'm here, hiding in a random office so that you won't know I'm around._

_I'm admit it, Jess… I'm pathetic. All this time I've had the opportunity to come looking for you, to chase after you like I always promised, and it took the WWE Title for me to grow the balls to do._

_I screwed up royally and blew the blessing that I was given when you walked into my life in your little pink snowsuit all those years ago._

_And you were right, I never fought for you. I could have done it with Liz and I failed; I failed you. By the time I wised up, it was too late to undo the damage._

_I started this journal as a way to pretend that everything was okay, to help me sleep at night, but somewhere along the line, it evolved into something more than just that. At some point in time, I made up my mind that I'd find you again and give this to you, if by some miracle, you decided to forgive me._

_I guess, if you're reading this, you have… and I thank you for that. I swear, I won't blow it this time. I now know what it's like to lose someone you shouldn't have in the first place._

_I promised myself that I would be honest with you and I hope you continue to do so with me. Now, in what I've decided, no matter what, will be the last entry of this journal, I am going to follow through on that promise._

_As this journal was written, and I moved up the rungs of the ladder, I realized that getting to the top might be the only way to see you again. This drove me to work one hundred times harder than I ever thought that I could. Leave it to me to be right about that, though, and wrong about every thing else._

_Then, about a year ago, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The journal had once again evolved into something more. I knew, eventually, I would be giving this to you and while I prepared speeches in my head a thousand different times, no scenario was perfect. _

_I once told you that I'd always chase after you and as I stated earlier, tonight is no exception. You have been there for me, through thick and thin, through teasing and fights, through family and girlfriends; you have never let me down. But I let you down big time, Jessica, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it._

_After Liz, I searched for the perfect owman I thought her to be, but now I realize that she'd been living in her shadow all along. _

_The shadow was that of a good-hearted, passionate young woman, with a love for her family, her friends, and the business that was in her blood._

_So this is it, Jessica Juliette McMahon. This is the message this journal has been trying to convey all along, even though I didn't always know it. This is the part where I tell you I can't live without you and that I need you. This is the part where I tell you that twenty years of knowing you has made me a better man. This is me telling you that I love you… always have and always will._

_But if you don't feel the same way, I'll go on with my life, content in having you as my best friend. And while it will hurt, I will be okay with it someday. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday… I'll find myself alright._

_So there's ten minutes left until I'm supposed to make the save, but really, Jess, you were the one who saved me a long time ago and for that, I will always be grateful._

_And in closing, I will say to you the same words that a wise young woman once told me a long time ago:_

_Thank you, Jessica Juliette McMahon, for making my life less boring._

_Love always,_

_John_

* * *

Jessica's hand flew to her mouth and she tucked the book back into her bag. She shook her head, trying to wake herself from this overwhelming dream, but it was to no avail. 

She let out a sarcastic laugh. It was almost as though she could hear John speaking to her, even now.

Suddenly it dawned on her; she was next to the A/V truck.

_He's still in the ring._

"Jessica," his voice repeated again, "I don't know if you can here me, but if you can, hear me out. What Randy did sucks, but he's your best friend and he cares about you more than anything. Trust me, I know what it's like to mess up… and you do too."

She shook her head slowly. He was right.

"But you can't let this get to you, Jess. You destroyed Lita tonight. You made Edge tap! You are a five-time Women's Champion and damn it, you are a McMahon. And McMahons don't walk away when things get tough."

That was all she needed to hear as the camera stopped focusing solely on John and split screened to the two of them; her in the parking lot, him in the ring.

Jessica slid her helmet back on her head and lifted her kickstand with her left foot.

She headed towards the exit of the parking lot, but halted in her tracks and turned the bike around. Jessica took one deep breath and lowered the mask of her helmet.

She revved her engine once… twice… three times.

The Harley sprung to life and zoomed towards the building.

"What the hell is she doing, King?" J.R. asked concernedly, watching the events that he knew were not scripted at this point. 

"I don't know, J.R., but if she's not careful, she's going to kill herself!"

Jessica lowered her head like a ram about to charge and braced herself for impact. 

Five seconds later, her bike plowed through the large glass door as shards rained down upon her.

Road agents, arena employees, and wrestlers dove out of the way as she sped down the hallway.

It was two minutes into her ride, when she spotted it on the wall: Floor Entrance.

She turned off sharply, barely missing the wall and a few people around the corner.

Soon, Jessica heard the crowd getting louder, signaling that she was getting close. Looking ahead, she saw the bright lights and the ring was drawing closer and closer in her sight.

Finally, she reached the end and turned off the engine, the crowd going crazy as she flipped the kickstand down and dismounted the bike.

For a moment, she could only stare at John in wonder. How could he just play it so cool for over a month? Did he know that she had found out?

Better yet, what was she doing there?!?

As her many thoughts ran through her head, Jessica pulled off her gloves and shoved them into the pockets of her jacket. Next came her helmet, which she held at her side.

God forbid someone should make off with that.

Meanwhile, John had walked to the other side of the ring and was retrieving a microphone for her.

Jessica ran a hand through her hair and struggled to remain calm as she walked up the stairs and into the ring.

John met her in the center of the ring and held his hand out to offer her the microphone, but she pushed his hand away.

She looked up and studied John's azure blue eyes. How could a pair of eyes possibly hide so much behind them and not betray their possessor?

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him softly, not wanting it to project to the crowd.

John got the hint and dropped both mics to the ground, adjusting the belt on his shoulder.

"I was afraid to lose you again, Jess," he replied sincerely, his voice dangerously low, as well.

"Jesus, John," Jessica shook his head at him and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him down towards her as her lips captured his.

The crowd screamed. Fans clapped. Flashes burst from every angle.

Jessica pulled away for a moment, leaning her forehead against John's, as she stared into his azure eyes.

"You never lost me in the first place," she smiled.

John could only grin back brightly as he dropped his belt to the mat and pressed his lips against hers once more.

* * *

**A/N: If that's not enough to make you guys review, I don't know what else to do.**

**Holler: Chain Gang Princess, Adrian Jade, New York Chica, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Daddy's Lil HeartBreaker, lil-miss-wrestling-fan, nic-002001, dj-ssdd, and goddessofthenite.**

**And by the way, I know you love me after this one… but now would be the time to show it. PLEASE review!**

**Danielle **


	19. Chapter 19

They made their way through the curtain, a smile etched on each of their faces.

For the last ten minutes, the moment John had been playing out in his mind for years had finally arrived. Jessica now knew the truth he had slowly come to realize in her absence and more importantly, it seemed as though she had come to accept it too.

What had started out as one of the worst nights of Raw Jessica had ever experienced, had quickly done an about face and turned into one of the best nights of her life.

Jessica walked slightly ahead of John from the darkness into the light backstage. As they passed the monitors, John grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him for another kiss.

He ran a hand through her hair and broke their kiss with a grin.

"What?" Jessica asked him, opening her eyes. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he shook his head at her with a smile, "I just never imagined that this would ever happen."

"Well, it's happening, John," she returned his smile and touched his cheek before kissing him lightly.

The lip lock quickly deepened, but John begrudgingly pulled away.

"Jess, I have a dark match…"

"So?" she shrugged. "I'll get someone else to do it."

John laughed, "You know you can't do that."

"Yeah, yeah," she scrunched her nose at him.

"I'm going to go beat up Adam," he began, taking her hands in his, "And then we'll continue this later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," she bit her lip lightly and stepped back, still in his grasp.

"Okay," he repeated after her, backing up towards the curtain, finally dropping her hands once they stretched out of his reach.

As she turned and walked towards the glass door she had recently obliterated, where her bike was waiting for her once again, she couldn't help but continue to grin, even as the glass crunched underneath her feet.

Déjà vu struck her as once again, she pushed her helmet onto her head and drove off into the night.

* * *

She stood in front of the door and knocked on it sharply.

"What do you want?" a voice snapped.

Jessica swiped her keycard and let herself in.

"To apologize," she replied to his back as he stared out the window.

Randy turned around to look at her, a glass bottle in his hands, nearly half empty.

"It's you…"

"Yeah, Randy, it's me," she sighed and took notice of the bottle in his hands, "The girl you're trying to drink away."

"Well… it looks like I'm doing a pretty good job," he surmised, holding up the bottle.

"I was a bitch back there, Randy," Jessica admitted as she sat down beside him on the bed. "And you didn't deserve it."

Randy shrugged and took another swig of vodka, gasping as it burned his throat, then returning it to his lips again.

"Stop that," she ordered him and pulled the bottle out of his mouth with a loud pop, "If anyone should be doing that, it's me."

"And why would that be, Jessica?" he eyed her, "What the hell has gone wrong for you tonight?"

_So he knows…_

"Well," she began, placing a hand on each of her thighs, "I pushed my best friend away."

"No you didn't, you made out with him on national television."

"Maybe one of my two best friends," Jessica laughed at his moodiness, "But I pushed you away for trying to protect me. Randy," she sighed and twisted her head to look at the side of his face, "I don't want you to become the next John Cena of my life, okay?"

For a few moments, no words passed between the two as silence hung in the air.

"What? My lips aren't good enough for you?" he broke the silence, a grin spreading across his lips.

Jessica exhaled in relief. They were okay again.

"In your dreams, Orton."

"Most likely, considering you're going to be in his room tonight."

"So, so you're calling me easy, Randal Keith Orton?" she arched an eyebrow at him.

"No," he covered quickly, "I just meant…"

"I know, Randy," she laughed at his bad attempt to backpedal, "But I think I'm going to hang out with my other best friend for the night, if that's okay with you?"

"Oh, yeah…" he trailed off, staring out the window, slightly wounded by her plans with John, "Sure."

"You see, he's leaving tomorrow and I won't be seeing him for a while."

"Oh," Randy smiled at her, "Are you sure? Because I'm a little drunk right now…"

"Randy, Randy, Randy," Jessica shook her head at him, "You drink almost a full bottle of Absolut and you're only buzzed. We take you to Applebee's and you get plastered!"

* * *

_Your time is up, my time is now. You can't see me, my time is now._

"Did you know that your ringtone on her phone is your theme song? You guys are such retards."

"Thanks for your input, Orton," John rolled his eyes on the other end of the line. "Can I talk to Jessica now?"

"Yeah, whatever…" he mumbled and walked to the bathroom door. "Jess!" he called with a knock.

"What?"

"Loverboy is on the phone!"

"I'll be right out," she replied and true to her word, the door opened moments later.

"Thanks, Randy," she smiled and wiped her face dry with a towel.

As she tossed it back inside, she took the phone out of Randy's outstretched hand.

"Hello?" Jessica answered, holding it up to her ear.

"Hey," John replied smoothly.

"Hey yourself," she smiled, propping the phone up between her head and her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," she answered nonchalantly, using her free hands to tug down the bottom of her black camisole over her grey Soffee shorts. "How about yourself?"

"Out exploring," he shrugged, his left hand on the phone as he walked the halls.

"Sounds like fun," she replied, reaching up to release her hair clip and place it in her mouth as she shook out her hair with her hands.

A knock resonated through the room.

"Mmm…" she mumbled through the clip, but then removed it, "Hold on, someone's at the door."

"Okay," John agreed.

Jessica walked over to the door and pulled it open.

"You might want to hang up the phone, McMahon. You're wasting your minutes."

She shook her head and smiled, shutting her flip phone.

"It's later…"

"I know," Jessica nodded as he stepped towards her.

John looked her up and down.

"You know, our childhood might have turned out differently if you paraded around in outfits like that."

"I had self-respect in high school… 17-year olds shouldn't revel so much, but Liz on the other ha-"

"Whoa," he cut her off, "I am officially banning the L-word as of today."

"Sorry," she looked up innocently, "It's a reflex."

"So is this," John smirked and slid an arm around her slender waist, pulling her out the door and crushing his lips onto hers.

Their kiss was interrupted by the door slamming behind Jessica's back, causing the pair to jump.

"I think we got the young 'un angry, John," Jessica snickered.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, placing a hand on either side of her fresh face, "I just can't keep my hands off you, Jess."

"Are my lips that addicting?" she smiled back at him coyly.

"I'm just trying to make up for lost time…"

"Hey," Jess said softly, reaching for his hands and pulling them down towards the floor, "We've got our entire lives ahead of us."

"Just… no more wasted time, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, "But we have to start tomorrow…"

"Babe," John laughed, "I think a few million people saw our start…"

"It's just that…" Jessica began, but stopped. "Wait, did you just call me 'babe?'"

"Wow," John took a step back and rubbed his jaw, "I think I did. Sorry about that."

"Why are you sorry? I never said I didn't like it…"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she blushed. "But I have to go now, John. The princess," she threw her head back towards the door, "Is getting irritable. I think he's PMS-ing, but it's his last night here, so I'm going to humor him just this once."

"Yeah," he laughed, "You go do that."

She nodded and slid her key into the slot, waiting for the light to turn green, and when it did, she creaked open the door.

"Goodnight, John," she smiled across the hall at him.

"Goodnight…" he replied softly, watching her retreat into the room. "Wait!"

The door opened again and she poked her head back out into the hallway.

"Yeah?" she blinked at him.

"Listen, Adam sucks as a roommate… and I know you're going to be losing yours, but you don't have to answer me now or anything…" he rambled on. "I was just wondering…"

"I'll think about it," Jessica chuckled at his behavior and shut the door once again.

"So are you done making goo-goo eyes at your boyfriend?"

"Yes, I swear," Jessica held up her right hand, "Scout's honor."

"Good… cause tonight, Jessica McMahon," Randy smirked, his green eyes glinting in the light of the room, "It's no sleep 'til Brooklyn."

"Hey! You're from St. Louis!" she protested. "I was the one born in Brooklyn… I get to make Beastie Boys reference!"

"I forgot that being born in a city makes you the only person in the world that can quote their lyrics. I'll be sure to let Mike D in on that one, Jess."

"Okay, okay… touché."

* * *

Randy left the following morning at around 10am. While Jessica insisted on driving him to the airport, he refused, not wanting it to be any harder than it already was. Truth be told, he wasn't sure that he would be able to stay strong at the airport and taking a car to Newark would be a hell of a lot easier than having an awkward conversation with Jessica on the way there.

In reality, Jessica was taking the separation extremely well. Maybe it was of some consolation that they would be able to see each other at pay-per-views or maybe it was the congratulations from the entire RAW roster that was keeping her occupied. Whatever it was, she didn't care. She was finally happy.

As she entered the elevator, her luggage trailing behind her, she bumped into a solid body hidden beyond the doors.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Jessica apologized and then looked up into the face of Jeff Hardy. "Jeff."

It wasn't that Jessica wasn't happy to see Jeff. In fact, it was a pleasant surprise. It had been a while since she'd seen him after all, nearly two years at that.

"Um, hello," the rainbow-haired wonder replied, staring at his shoes. "Get a good night's sleep?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "And yourself?"

"Just checked in," Jeff replied. "Y'all leaving already?"

"Unfortunately," she sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"TNA has an Impact taping here in a few days," he shrugged. "I figured I'd get here early, maybe catch up with a few old friends. I caught RAW last night, wanted to see who'd be here… and uh, seems like a lot has been going on with you lately."

Ever since she had broken up with Jeff, after Diana's death four years prior, Jessica had regretted it. Her regret was not based on some notion that she was still in love with him or that she felt some desire to still be with him, it was because she had put a serious dent in her friendship with Jeff.

Jessica bit her lip, "Jeff, I…"

"Wait, Jess," the younger Hardy cut her off, "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I may be your ex-boyfriend, but it was a long time ago. I still think of you as a friend, too."

"That's good to hear, Jeff," she smiled back at him. "You know, I've been trying to get you back for a while now, in the WWE, I mean."

"Don't," he shook the notion off, "I like where I am now. I feel free, Jess, and it's taken forever to know what that feels like."

"I just don't want you to feel like you can't come home," Jessica assured him, "Because you always can."

"That's the thing, Jessica," Jeff replied, "I feel like I am home."

"If it's what you want, Jeff, I'm not going to try to stop you. I know better than that."

"Good," he nodded once for effect as the doors opened. "I just have one question for you?"

"Sure, shoot," she answered, watching as he passed through the doors and turned to face her.

"Are you happy?"

"What?" Jessica's eyebrows shot into the air.

"Are… you… happy?" he repeated slowly, a hint of sarcasm in his pace.

Jessica stared out of the small prism that was the elevator at the floor in the hallway and then looked back up at him, "Yeah. I'm happy."

"Good," Jeff smiled back at her reassuringly, "Because you should never be unhappy when you're at home. Take care, Jess."

And with those words, the doors closed between her and Jeff

"Yeah, take care."

Jessica stared at her reflection in the metal doors and chuckled, shaking her head.

Somehow, in his enigmatic way of speaking, Jeff had let her know that he was okay and that he knew that they belonged at separate places at the moment, but he was alright with the way her life was.

It wasn't that Jessica needed his approval, she hadn't even thought about him since her and John had gotten together, but now that he had showed up… it certainly helped.

* * *

While Jessica and John had begun dating immediately following the fateful RAW that had brought them together, life hadn't exactly slowed down for either of them.

On the following RAW, John had been involved in a lumberjack match, which had ended with him getting the win, but Jessica getting a little more than some abuse around the ring.

After that, Jessica had accompanied John, his cousin, Marc Predka, aka Tha Trademarc, and Bumpy Knuckles in their Battle of the Bands competition against Fozzy, playing her jet black Ibanez Roadstar II Series guitar for the song. While the four of them had easily defeated the forfeiting Fozzy, lead by Chris Jericho, it spawned a new career opportunity for Jessica in particular.

Immediately following the show, she was approached by her father and a man in a suit who was looking to sign her to a one-record deal with his label, with the potential for a multi-release contract, pending her freshman album's performance.

His name: Clive Davis.

You read it right… Clive-freaking-Davis.

In another few months, she would have to fly into New York every week and start work in the studio. Not to mention, she'd have to be separated from John for extremely long periods of time once the record dropped. Even after her first single was out, her downtime wouldn't matter. Most likely, his movie, The Marine, would be out shortly thereafter and he'd be off doing his thing, in turn, leaving them separated even more.

It was frustrating; after all, the best feature of working together was that they saw each other everyday, unlike most male wrestlers and their girlfriends/wives or divas and their boyfriends/husbands, and they were losing that to their independent desires.

But no matter what happened with John's movie career or Jessica's music career, they still shared wrestling. They had talked it over night after night and decided that if she didn't take advantage of it, the door might not open again. John had gone through the WWE to record his album, but this was J Records, one of the big boys. He didn't want her to regret not taking a shot at it.

It was now the end of August and Raw would be coming to Tampa, Florida, where John had purchased a house earlier in the year. After much begging and pleading, John had managed to convince his father to come down to Florida for the week to visit, as he hadn't seen him in a while.

In the last two months, John Sr. hadn't been in the best of health. The normally vibrant and outgoing father of five boys had felt sluggish and weak, as of late. After visiting many doctors, the last one had quickly diagnosed it as a violent stomach flu in the first week of July and sent him straight to the hospital. What had started out as the stomach flu had progressed into a worse virus of some sort, leaving him relatively hallucinogenic for nearly a week, as his fever had peaked at 104.

Now, with a clean bill of health, John Cena, Sr. was standing outside of the Tampa International Airport, awaiting his son's arrival.

Finally, the younger John Cena's rust-colored 1967 Pontiac GTO Judge pulled up directly in front of the terminal. He put the car in park and quickly exited the vehicle.

"Sorry, sorry…" he apologized, "I got a late start."

"I see you still like to be inconspicuous when you drive around, John… don't like to draw much attention to yourself," the elder Cena laughed, sliding his glasses further onto his face.

"What can I say, Dad? I love fast cars…"

"Like you like fast women?" he retorted quickly.

"Hey, I was young and stupid," he answered defensively, "But I've changed. My new girlfriend isn't like that at all, I swear."

"Yeah," John Sr. rolled his eyes at his son, "Your mother was telling me that you had mentioned something about a new girlfriend while she was with me in the hospital one day… and by the way, thanks for sending me those chocolate covered pretzels when you left," he continued. "The nurses tried to take them away, but I hid them."

"I knew they were your favorite, Dad," John added. "And Mom was right…"

"She hasn't met her either yet?"

"She hasn't seen her since we started dating," John replied coyly, "No."

"Ah ha."

"But you're going see her today," he smiled, loading his father's luggage into the trunk.

John Sr. got into the passenger's seat and shut the door, his son soon following.

"John!" he sighed heavily and turned to look at his son as they pulled out of the airport, "You let her move in with you already? You've only been dating a month and a half!"

"Well, what was I supposed to do when she spent time in Tampa, Dad?" he replied. "Make her stay at a hotel?"

"Yes!"

"Dad, I swear," John promised his father, "She's not a gold digger, okay?"

"You don't know that…" he warned his son.

"Yes, I do," he shook him off as they pulled onto the freeway.

"John Felix Anthony Cena," John Sr. shook his head, "What on Earth am I going to do with you?"

"Dad," he chuckled, "You've been saying that since I was a kid."

"And nothing seems to have changed, John!"

"Listen," John smiled thinking about his girlfriend, "You're going to love her and I know it's been a while since we talked last… and I know I'm talking fast, but I can't help it, Dad. I found a girl that would make you proud of me. She's perfect…" he trailed, pulling off at the next exit.

"Perfect?"

"Yes, Dad. I said perfect," he repeated. "I can't help but smile when she says my name, it's amazing. I know I don't exactly have the best track record…"

Just as John was about to finish, his phone began to ring.

_I can't really explain it; I'm so into you now. I want to be more than a friend to you now…_

"Mind if I take this, Dad?"

"If you must," he cracked with a knowing smile and a roll of the eyes.

John reached for the phone and clicked the green button before placing the phone up to his ear.

"Hey," he smiled. "Yeah, I'm with my Dad now… we'll be home in about three minutes. No, no… it's fine. What did you buy that for?" John shook his head and laughed. "You know I don't like… okay, okay. Fine. Look, I'm driving and this isn't exactly the safest thing on the earth…"

"You think?" his father chortled beside him. "You know what else isn't safe? Your credit card in her hands!"

Ignoring the elder Cena, he continued his conversation, "I'll see you soon. I love you too, babe. Bye."

"You love her?" John Sr. arched an eyebrow at his son. "You don't…"

"Can you at least give her a chance, Dad?" he asked his father, pulling onto his street and then into his driveway.

"Fine," he relented, "But she's already starting off on the negative side of the scale."

John laughed and shook his head as he exited the car and grabbed his father's luggage from the back of his car.

"You haven't changed a bit, old man."

"Who you callin' old man?" Senior shot back, "I could still take you, you know?"

"I know, Dad," he continued to chuckle as he opened the door. "I know."

He placed his father's things down beside the stairs and shut the door behind them.

"Babe? I'm home!" he called out into the expansive house, the words echoing through the rooms.

Out of nowhere, John Senior saw a young woman shoot through one of the doorways in the house and run into the arms of his son.

He shook his head.

_At least this one can act…_

The scent of chocolate wafted across the room and the elder Cena sniffed the air.

_And cook._

He glanced back over at his son, as he was kissing the blonde girl, who was clearly shorter than he was and not touching the ground at the moment in his arms.

John cleared his throat, forcing the young couple to take notice of their activities and recall they were in the presence of another person.

"Oh, right," John mumbled and placed her back down on the tiled floor. "Dad, this is my girlfriend…"

The young blonde stepped out from behind her boyfriend and smiled over at John's father, a familiar smile crossing her face.

"Hey, Senior," she greeted him brightly with a somewhat embarrassed wave.

"Jessica?" his eyes widened as he glanced at his son's girlfriend. "You… and John?"

"Mhmm," she laughed lightly and nodded.

"I… um… wow…" he stammered, "When?"

"Raw," John answered for her, "July 11th… you missed that one."

"Seems like your mother did too," he mumbled. "So, John?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Is it too late for me to stick my foot in my mouth?"

"Not at all," he chuckled at his dad, "But I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"That's something I agree with you on," he nodded. "One more question… Jessica?"

"Yes?" Jessica answered with a curious smile. "What did you go and buy that got my son slightly perturbed?"

"Pretzels…" she smirked knowingly, "And even though your son stands on his high horse about no junk food in the house, chocolate. Homemade, for you… in the kitchen."

"You know how to hurt me, young lady," he clutched at his heart jokingly.

"I think I know how to hurt him better," she laughed, pinching John on the arm.

"Hey! Uncalled for!" he protested.

"Oh, suck it up," Jessica stuck her tongue out at him.

"While I'm sure you could insert a sexual innuendo here, John, I ask you to please refrain from doing so until I am completely inside the kitchen," John Sr. warned his son as he headed towards the chocolate pretzels in the kitchen.

Taking advantage of his father's turned back, he wrapped his arms around Jessica's slim torso and lifted her green tee shirt and dark blue jeans clad body into the air.

On his way to the kitchen, his father turned around and John quickly placed her back on her feet.

"And John?"

"Yes, Dad?" he looked across the hall at his father innocently.

"You're right," John Senior smiled at him, "I am proud."

* * *

**A/N: I know this was kind of a fluffy chapter, but it's setting up the end of the story, somewhat.**

**As of now, I am planning to have two more chapters of this story, making 21 chapters overall.**

**Big news: There WILL BE a sequel to She's a Rebel!**

**At the moment, it's untitled, but I am leaning towards a few and I'll give you the possibilities…**

**In the next chapter. In the last chapter of the story, Chapter 21, the new title will be revealed.**

**BUT before you guys can read the next chapter, you must review! I was so happy with the _16_ reviews you guys cranked out for the last one! **

**Remember, the more reviews you give me, the more driven I am to write and the happier I'll be when writing, which means the quicker I can knock out a chapter!**

**Shout out: dj-ssdd, ginny-potter-07, Chain Gang Princess, MissPhilippinesSuperStar, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, xXBXx, cassymae, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, lil-miss-wrestling-fan, goddessofthenite, nic-002001, Sammy91, OCHockeyBrat, Adrian Jade, New York Chica, and writethisdown4you!**

**Happy Reviewing!**

**Danielle**


	20. Chapter 20

Immediately after John Senior left Tampa, Jessica and John had flown to Tennessee for Raw and then fulfilled a few promotional obligations for the next five days. At the end of the week, they flew to Little Rock, Arkansas just to have a day to themselves to relax.

It wasn't that working together wasn't a perk for both of them, because it most certainly was, it was just that they never really had any downtime. John was always on the go, doing interviews to help promote his rap career, calling into radio shows, and doing photo shoots, and while Jessica did partake in a few shoots, mainly, she was in solo sessions only.

This week would be the first amount of time they really had to spend together, where there would be no interruptions, no phones ringing off the hook, and absolutely zero obligations.

Granted, it was Little Rock, Arkansas, and while it certainly had some things to do, it didn't offer the big city atmosphere that both John and Jessica had grown to crave, living just 40 minutes from Boston.

Now, all they had to do was sit in around their hotel room, and look through the books in the room, hoping to get a few ideas for the week's activities.

"I haven't come up with a single thing to do at one 'o clock in the afternoon," Jessica sighed, dropping a book down onto the floor on which she was sitting.

"I know," John added with a similar sentiment, "Nothing until dinner time, at the earliest."

"Five hours to kill until then…"

"Hey," he began with a smile, "I think I've got something for us to do."

John picked up the receiver of the phone, holding it to his ear, as he dialed the front desk.

"Hello, could you tell me where the nearest Gold's Gym is located? Really? That close, huh? Okay, thank you," John concluded and hung up the phone.

"That was your brilliant idea?" Jessica scoffed at him once he had turn to face her.

"What?" he threw his hands up innocently. "There's nothing else to do…"

"Wow, John," she curled her upper lip at him, "If that's your idea of romance, then it needs a lot of work."

"I never said that it was the epitome of a romantic day, Jess," John assured her, "It's just something to pass the time."

"I've known you for over twenty years, John," Jessica raised her eyebrows and stood up from the floor, "And hitting the gym would not have been the option I would have bet on crossing your mind."

John studied her face for a moment and a sheepish grin soon spread across his lips, his dimples showing.

"Oh," he chuckled awkwardly, "I see what you mean."

"But you want to go to the gym," she shrugged innocently with an exhaled breath, "So we'll go."

Jessica brushed past her boyfriend and grabbed a red tank-top and a pair of grey shorts out of the top of her suitcase.

"We don't have to…" John called over to her at the other end of their hotel room.

"No, no," she waved him off as she straightened up and threw her clothes into a duffel bag, "We'll go to the gym."

"But I like your idea better…" he whined.

"Well then," she smirked at him as she slid the bag over her shoulder, "You should have thought of it first. I'll meet you downstairs."

John watched as his girlfriend pulled the door open and then closed behind her, smiling at her uncanny ability to get him to smile. No matter how hard he tried, he'd never be able to resist her.

As he grabbed his own duffel bag, already packed with his gym clothes, he couldn't help but wonder why he'd been able to do it for so long in the first place.

* * *

"One more time, Jess…" John encouraged her, holding her forearms as she went for her last bench fly-away.

He watched as her face tensed up in focus and began to turn red, her arms shaking as she forced them apart for the last rep.

"Done," he announced, taking the 15lb. dumbbells from her hands.

She jumped to her feet and smiled as she felt the adrenaline course through her veins, "I love this feeling."

"Wow, I never remember you being like this before," John's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You won't meet any other Diva that works harder in here than me," Jessica boasted confidently, wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

"You know," John smirked at her, moving towards her from behind the bench, "It's kind of sexy…"

"Oh, get your hormones in check, Cena," she rolled her eyes at him, placing a hand on his chest and pushing him backwards. "This is a gym… not our hotel room. You screwed that one up two hours ago, don't try to make up for it now."

"But I still like your idea…"

"I know, I know," she bounced her head patronizingly, "But can you just spot me on the bench now?"

"Alright," he relented with a heavy sigh.

* * *

Jessica sat on the bed, lazily flipping through the magazines as the shower ran in the bathroom. She glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand.

_5:38_

"God, he's been in there forever," she marveled, flipping to a new page.

As if John had magically heard her comment, the water stopped running and about five minutes later, he appeared in the room leaving the carpet with sopping footprints.

"You know that'll never dry, right?" she arched an eyebrow at him.

"Does it really matter?"

"I don't know… does it matter if you have giant wet spots on your pants because you don't know how to dry yourself off and you look like you peed your pants?" Jessica smiled at him curtly.

"Just shut up and take your damn shower…" he grumbled at her.

"Hey, it's not my fault you had to take it alone…"

"For your information," John began in frustration, but then stopped, "Wait a second, you would have…"

"Another missed opportunity," she bounced her shoulders and grabbed her change of clothes, heading for the bathroom door. "For a guy, you certainly don't think much about sex…"

John opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the bathroom door closing shut.

"Hey… at least I can make up my mind about where we're going for dinner!" he called to her, leaning against the bathroom door.

"Please, you think I can't?" she challenged him as she started the shower on the other side.

"Fine then. Pick where we go after dinner!" John answered.

"You sure… because once I pick where we go you are soooo stuck, my dear."

"I'm sure," he replied seriously.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you…"

* * *

"You're kidding me, right?" John dropped her hand and looked up at the neon sign above the brick building's glass doors.

"Come on, please," she begged him as they stood outside the velvet ropes.

"The Electric Cowboy, Jessica?" he ran a hand over his jaw. "Why did you bring me to a club when you know I can't dance?"

"Because I wanted to have fun and I figured it was time you learned how to dance the right way," she replied.

"There is no way in hell I am going in there…" he waved his hands in front of his body. "No way, Jess."

"Please, John," Jessica stood in front of him and held both of his hands, "For me? I haven't gone dancing in forever and I want to go dancing with you. I promise, after a few songs we can leave!"

"Ugh, come on, Jessica," John threw his head back, "Don't make that face."

"Just this once…"

"Ah… alright," he gave in with a sigh.

Immediately, she pulled him towards the velvet ropes and looked down the line to see where it began on the sidewalk.

"Um, Ms. McMahon, Mr. Cena?" a burly man called to them from the door.

Jessica and John turned around and looked over at the man a few feet away, startled by his words.

"What are you doing?" he asked them, holding onto his clipboard tightly.

"We were looking for the end of the line…" Jessica informed him.

The man laughed, "You don't have to wait, Ms. McMahon. You two are V.I.P.'s, of course."

"You recognize us?" Jessica's eyebrows raised at him.

"Come on, Ms. McMahon," the mocha-skinned bouncer continued to chuckle, "Down here, you either watch NASCAR or Wrestling… often, both. Come on inside… you have no reason to wait out here."

The bouncer opened the door with one arm and allowed Jessica and John to pass through.

The sounded of a thumping bass and loud guitar chords immediately penetrated their ears as they surveyed the scene. At the moment, they stood on an elevated platform directly across from the bat, but down a flight of stares, strobes and laser lights flashed through the darkness, illuminating the dance floor.

"Come on," Jessica smiled, leading John towards the stairs.

"Wait, wait," he halted her, pulling her towards a pair of empty barstools, "I need a drink or two at the least if I'm going to do this…"

"Fine, you big baby," she rolled her hazel eyes at him. "What are we drinking tonight?"

"A shot of Jagermeister… a shot of tequila," he grinned wickedly.

"What? Don't think I can hold it down, Cena?" she tilted her head at him. "I'll have you know that I can still hold my liquor just fine, thank you. While you were off partying with the boys at Smackdown, I was matching Jeff Hardy shot for shot every weekend… and let me tell you, both him and Matt have very little to do back in Cameron, North Carolina other than drinking and lighting things on fire."

"Alright then, prove it," he wiggled an eyebrow at her, as the bartender made his way over. "Two shots of Jager, two shots of Tequila… one for me, and one for my girl."

"You've got it," the longhaired man in his early forties replied, taking out four shot glasses and quickly filling them, "Here's four shots… two for you, sir, and two for the lady."

"Thanks," he replied, handing over some bills to the man, which included a generous tip. "You ready, big shot?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Born ready, Champ," she laughed and grabbed the tequila-filled shot glass first. "Bottoms up, baby!"

John nodded and raised the glass in the air, "One. Two. Three."

On three, Jessica and John down their shot glasses and slammed them back onto the table.

Jessica smacked her lips as the tequila slid down her throat with ease.

"Mmm… I missed Sr. Cuervo," she laughed and turned to John who acted as though it has quenched his thirst. "Alright, slam on three?" she asked him, picking up the second shot.

"On three," he repeated.

"One. Two. Three," Jessica counted and slammed the shot of Jager past her lips and into her mouth with a satisfying burn as she let out a gasp.

"It's a nice burn, ain't it?" John asked with a grin, licking his lips.

"It most certainly is," she replied with a satisfied grin. "Now that we've pre-gamed, let's dance!"

John let out a groan as she grabbed a hold of his right hand and pulled him off of his barstool. Unfortunately, he had inherited his father's lack of rhythm and knew that Jessica, who had been a dancer from second grade until freshman year, would put him to shame.

"I'm just giving you fair warning," John shouted to her over the blaring music.

"What?" she turned around and shouted back as they began to descend down the stairs.

"I'm just giving you fair warning," he repeated loudly, "I haven't gotten any better since high school."

Jessica pulled him into the middle of the sea of bodies and winked at him, "Well, you've got a better teacher this time around."

"I can just see it now," he sighed, "Tomorrow's headlines: WWE Champ Isn't Fly for a White Guy. WWE Champion John Cena was spotted with girlfriend, Jessica McMahon, attempting to dance, which did not turn out so well. On the other hand, Jessica danced the night away with various men as Cena sat back and watched."

"Shut up," Jessica rolled her eyes at him for the millionth time that night as Kanye West's Golddigger began to blare through the speakers. "It's like when you rap, you bounce from side to side, right?" she asked him, stepping in close to him.

"Yeah… so?"

"So, it's the same exact motion…" Jessica placed her arms around his neck, "Put one foot forward a little bit…"

John did as he was told.

"Good," she nodded and stepped on either side of his left leg, still facing him, "Now we're going to move side to side with the music."

"You're kidding me, right?" he eyed her.

"What did you think, you were going to stand out here and do the Carlton Banks? Now, put your hands on my hips," she ordered him, to which he followed. "Good. Alright, follow my lead."

As the first full chorus began, John and Jessica began to move the music. She couldn't help but smile at John's lack of dancing skills, but as the song progressed, he began using his hips to move side to side.

"That's it!" she beamed at him, her hazel eyes glinting in the laser lights. "You're doing perfect!"

John grinned back at her proudly and then stared off into the sea of people for a minute, trying to recall some of Randy's moves with women when he had gone clubbing with the infamous Mr. Orton.

The song faded out and into Sean Paul's Temperature.

John looked into the eyes of his girlfriend, who was now genuinely enjoying herself, and he had to admit, he was enjoying himself too.

Jessica had to admit, he was doing an excellent job. No longer was he laboring back and forth, trying to find the rhythm. Now, he had found it… and he was keeping it well. It looked as though he had been dancing like this for years.

They danced for over an hour, writhing along with the rest of the mass of people.

Then Oh by Ciara began to pulse through the speakers.

John was getting tired and figured this would be one of the last dances of the night. It was probably close to midnight and his pace was starting to slow down, despite his newfound dancing ability, and Jess was beginning to slow down too.

He turned her around so that her back was firmly against his chest and grabbed her hands, pulling them into the air as he laced his fingers with hers.

She smiled, grinding her hips backwards into him slowly and turning her head just so her chin was over her shoulder and she could catch glimpses of him.

He was definitely enjoying himself… and she didn't know how much longer they could go before they dropped.

John leaned his lips in towards her neck and began to trail kisses up her bare shoulder, upwards on her collarbone, and settled in on her neck.

"You know that you're the sexiest woman in here, right?" he breathed into her ear, lightly nipping at it with his teeth.

"Only 'cause I'm here with the sexiest man," she smirked back at him, dropping a little lower towards the ground and coming back up quickly.

John smirked right back at her, allowing a hand to slide upwards from her knee and over her thigh before circling around her midsection.

"What do you say we get out of here?" John whispered in her ear huskily.

Jessica nodded and led John back through the crowd towards the stairs.

They climbed the stairs and passed back through the doors, waiting on the curb for a taxi to pull up. The white car pulled up and the couple slid inside, John barely managing to utter the name of the hotel before Jessica crushed her lips onto his in the backseat.

"I didn't know… you could dance… like that," she said as her boyfriend nibbled on her neck.

"Neither did I," he smiled into her skin before moving to back to her lips.

The car pulled to a halt around five minutes later and John handed the guy a twenty dollar bill as he hastily exited the car and grabbed Jessica's hand.

"Let's go, baby," he urged her, as she pulled off her strappy black heels and ran into the hotel with him.

* * *

The elevator seemed to take forever as the young couple stopped in the lobby, fidgeting as they waited. Finally the golden doors separated and they made their way inside, separated as the doors remained opened, pressed against each other as the doors closed.

John's hand slid to the nape of her neck, settling in Jessica's hair as his tongue ran along her lips. His other hand trailed to the beading of her jeans, resting upon her thigh, and slid upwards as her left leg hooked around the back of his own.

The doors opened and they stumbled out of the elevator, heading a few rooms to their left. They reached room number 1105 and John fumbled through his pockets, his lips still pressed on Jessica's, searching for his key. He managed to find the key and slid it into the lock, which soon clicked open.

Jessica pushed back on the door and opened it as they moved inside their room. John kicked the door shut behind him and turned Jessica around, backing her up into the steel of the closed door.

John pulled her hands up above her head, pinning them to the cool metal as he slid his lips down her neck to her shoulders. The only lamp lit in the room cast a dim glow over his body, illuminating his black button down shirt and blue jeans.

She slid her hands out from his grasp and snaked them up over his shoulders and down his back. For a moment, Jessica kept them there, but then slid them back up and under the collar of his shirt, aided by a few open buttons, and then proceeded to undo the rest of them. Finally, she managed to get the shirt unbuttoned and pushed it over his shoulders.

John took the hint and threw off the black dress shirt, leaving him in his black wifebeater. He ran his hands up her abdomen and underneath the hem of her navy and Roxy tank top with white hibiscus flowers, pushing the fabric upwards and then pulling it completely over her head, leaving her in only a black lace bra and her tight, ripped jeans.

She smirked through their passionate kisses, running her hands underneath the cotton of his wifebeater and raking her nails over his skin. Jessica curled her fingers underneath the bottom of his shirt and pulled it upwards, breaking the kiss to pull it over his head.

She looked him over, her hazel orbs drinking in every ridge, every muscle of his perfectly tanned, godlike physique. As she took the time to take notice of his body, John encircled her petite midsection with his strong arms and lifted her in the air. Jessica wrapped her legs around him in response, her bare flesh made contact with his own, eliciting sparks through her body.

John carried her over to their bed and arched over her as he laid her down on the bed, his hands pressed on either side of her as he crushed his lips firmly upon hers. A strong, yet gentle hand ran the length of her body, from the ankle of her bent left leg all the way up to her cheek.

He smirked over her body with deviance, soaking up the beauty of her body one last time and then reached up to his left, turning off the lamp and sending them into darkness.

* * *

"You might want to ask someone to cover that…"

"Hmm?" Jessica looked up at Amy in the Divas locker room.

"You might want to ask someone to cover that," Amy pointed to the mark on her neck, trying to hide a smile, "In makeup, I mean."

"Oh," she blushed as she stood up from the bench, "Yeah."

"I take it you had a good night," the redhead laughed as she opened the blue steel door, allowing her friend to enter the hallway first.

"You could say that," Jessica smiled coyly, looking down at her feet.

"I'm glad that you flew in a day early… or Trish and I would have resorted to banging on the walls," she added with a chuckle. "Somehow, we always manage to be your neighbor. Personally, I think God is punishing me…"

"Come on!" Jessica protested as they walked up to catering. "We are never that loud and we usually wait until the whole floor is asleep."

"That's true," Amy nodded as she glanced around the room for a free table, only to find Adam already saving one. "I will give you that one."

"Ames, Jess!" Adam called with a wave. "Over here."

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm back in high school?" Jessica wondered as she stood at the table. "Hey, Adam!"

"Hey, McMahon," he smiled at her, flashing his pearly whites. "I waited for you two to get some food, but I hear they have your favorite…" he added, standing from his chair.

Her eyes lit up, "Macaroni and Cheese?"

He nodded, "Mac and Cheese."

Hearing Adam's confirmation, she dashed straight for the buffet line and left Amy and Adam in the dust.

"Wow," he marveled with a shake of his head as he watched Jessica pile her plate a mile high, "All of that food… where does she put it?"

"Honestly," Amy whispered to him, "I hear she worked up quite an appetite."

"Huh?" Adam tilted his head at her as they traced Jessica's steps to the food.

"Adam!" she stared at him.

"What? Oh," he nodded, holding back a grin. "I gotcha."

* * *

"Oh, Macaroni," Jessica sang to her forkful of orange pasta, "How I missed you."

"Wow," Adam laughed, taking a seat beside Amy, "I think you've sunk to an entirely new level."

"Hey! I happen to love macaroni and cheese… so back off!" she shot back, sticking her tongue out at the Canadian.

"And to think… you love a plate of pasta more than you love me. I, for one, am incredibly insulted."

Jessica chewed another bite of pasta and turned to her left, just as John sat down beside her. She swallowed her food quickly and hastily wiped at her mouth with a napkin.

"Oh, hey, babe," she smiled and planted a quick kiss on his lips. "I didn't see you there."

"And apparently," John bit his lip, trying not to smile, and pointed at her neck, "You haven't seen that there…either."

"Oh," Jessica looked down at her plate. "About that…"

"Hey, no need to be embarrassed, Jess," Adam assured her, dropping a spoon down on his plate. "John ripped his shirt before when me, him, and a few of the guys were goofing off in a game of parking lot football this morning. Anyway, he had to get a new one out of his bag… and you should have SEEN the scratch marks on his back. Now, I'm not saying exactly how they got there, but, uh… I think you know."

"Wow, Copeland," John nodded slowly with an open mouth, "Wow."

"I never said I was discreet," he shrugged and went back to eating his food.

Amy snorted, "You got that right."

"Anyway," John interred, dragging out the word to cut through the sarcasm, "Whose excited for Unforgiven? Cause I am…"

"That's because you know you're keeping your title, Cena," the Rated-R superstar rolled his eyes.

"So," he challenged his friend, "I'd be excited if I knew I was going to lose…"

"Really?" Adam arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe not, but still…"

"That's what I thought."

"I'm going to go to makeup," Jessica announced, pushing away from the table and taking her plate with her. "I figure I'll get a head start to avoid more teasing, but I'll catch you guys later, okay?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "If I don't see you before the show starts, I'll see you out there."

Jessica smiled at them and headed for the trash can by the door, dumping the remainder of her food into it, and pushed through the door itself.

Adam turned to John as soon as Jessica left, "Now tell me again why I agreed to let your room with her?"

"Because you get your own room now?" John offered.

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"Did I ever mention," Amy interred, getting up from the table, "That you two are such guys?"

"Um… thank you?" John furrowed his eyebrows at her remark.

"Ugh," the fiery redhead rolled her eyes and began to head for the door, as well, "Bite me, Cena."

"Dude," he turned to address Adam, "What's eating her?"

"I don't know, man," the blonde Canadian shook his head with a shrug, "She's been like this for a few weeks now. I think this program with Matt's really starting to take its toll on her."

"It can't be easy…"

"Not at all. And what can I say to her?" he ran a hand through his hair. "Don't worry it'll be okay? I mean, we did bring this on ourselves…"

John held up a hand to stop him, "You don't have to explain yourself to me, Adam. I'm not the judge of morality around here."

"God help us if you were."

* * *

"King, look at this Jezebel," J.R. bellowed into his headset as Edge picked up Matt, only to be knocked down again by Lita's Twist of Fate.

"Well, J.R., it looks as though Matt Hardy's fate isn't looking too good right now," Lawler surmised as he watched the Rated-R couple loom over his body.

Suddenly, the crowd rose to their feet as a figure began running down the ramp, forcing Edge and Lita to flee.

"It's Jessica McMahon! It's Jessica McMahon!"

She dove into the ring and scurried over beside Matt, attending to him as he lay motionless on the mat. Jessica looked up towards the Titantron and noticed Lita smirking down at the ring.

"Edge wouldn't even stick around, the coward," the Oklahoman shook his head. "And that girlfriend of his is no better…"

"Well, J.R.," Lawler addressed his partner, "This Sunday, at Unforgiven, Lita will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. For the first time in WWE history, Jessica McMahon and Lita will go one-on-one is what is being called one of the biggest Diva match ups of all time!"

* * *

**A/N: Twenty chapters down, one more to go.**

**The next chapter, number 21, will be the last chapter of this story. Right now, the title name is down to three choices:**

**Going Under, Not Falling Apart, Unravel**

**I'd ask you to vote on them, but the problem is… you don't know what the story is going to be about. I have the first chapter of She's a Rebel II written, so I know exactly how the story is going to run.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter… and while I'd normally write shout outs, I am about to pass out (so please forgive me for any bad errors, as I have no comprehension of much right now), but I swear that I will make an extra long (and extra special) shout out to you in the final chapter of She's a Rebel.**

**So for now, please review this story and make me happy when I come home from my first day of school tomorrow! Ugh… senior year. One hundred and eighty more days… and I'm gone. Thank God.**

**Danielle**


	21. Chapter 21

Everyone sat gathered around the large, cherry oak conference table in the hotel's largest meeting room.

The road agents, Dean Malenko, Arn Anderson, and Dave Finlay, were at the far end of the square table, towards the door, with their binders before them on the illustrious surface.

The creative staff sat towards the other side; all three head writers, Michael Hayes, Brian Gewirtz, and Dave Lagana, fidgeting in their chairs and flipping through their notes for the morning.

Next sat the digital media department, headed by Shane McMahon and Brian Kalinowski, across from the road agents.

Lastly there were the McMahon sisters. The brunette sat with her creative team and her husband at the end of the table, while the blonde was seated beside her public relations team, consisting of Kristi D'Aliso, Lou D'Angeli, Jim Morris, and Melissa Seffens, across from her older sister.

Nearly everyone in the room was yawning, but seemed to be satisfying their bodies with some type of coffee, mostly black as night.

The clock on the wall ticked 4:57 am. Mornings like this were not atypical before a pay-per-view, as the meetings would last for an hour, and then at six am, each department would go into high gear.

Jessica glanced at the clock.

_4:58 am_

They were never early, never late… always on time. ALWAYS

She rubbed her eyes and adjusted the button of her blazer.

She had only been doing this job for three months and it was still hard to get used to. Then again, as the new Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and Media Relations, Jessica was in charge of public relations, copyrights, trademarks, and licensing, as well as all WWE press releases, press conferences, public appearances, and fan events.

The minute had ticked to twelve and as if on cute, the door to the conference room burst open.

Vince McMahon breezed into the room in his trademark grey suit, followed by his wife, WWE CEO Linda McMahon, in a navy blue powersuit of her own.

He headed towards the end of the table furthest from the door, between his daughters, and Linda went to the opposite end, near her son.

Once both were seated, he cleared his throat, "Good morning, everyone. Let's get straight to business, shall we?"

Vince turned his head towards the black skirt and blazer-clad Stephanie.

"First up, Creative."

"Right," she nodded and opened her binder. "We have all of our scenarios and storylines."

"Well done," Linda replied with an approving nod. "Vince?"

"Yes, yes," he concurred. "Call them off."

Stephanie nodded again and focused in on her paper.

"Non-title matches… first one: Trish Stratus and Ashley Massaro versus Victoria and Torrie Wilson."

"Stratus and Massaro," Vince concluded. "Have Trish feud with Victoria for the title. We need a good match up for No Mercy."

"Okay… Shelton Benjamin versus Kerwin White…?"

"Give it to Benjamin," Linda answered quickly. "Not much appeal to this storyline anymore. End it."

"Done. Big Show and Snitsky?"

"Big Show," Vince nodded with a grin. "And add insult to injury at the end. I think we'll keep this rivalry going a little bit longer."

"Noted," she replied, scribbling in her binder. "Shawn Michaels and Chris Masters?"

"Well, we can't give this one to Masters. It'd be a little… well, extremely unlikely that HBK would lose to him. Typical finish."

"Sweet Chin Music it is."

Paul let out a little laugh next to her.

"AND NOW," Stephanie continued and flipped to the next page in her book, "Title matches. Cena versus Angle, WWE Title."

"Cena," Vince replied without little hesitation. "Options?"

"Well," Brian replied, "We feel it'd be beneficial to keep this rivalry going. While it's already established, we think that adding Eric Bischoff adds fuel to the fire."

"Fine. Make it a DQ finish to Angle, stir up the pot a little."

"Tag Titles," Stephanie began, "The Hurricane and Rosey versus Cade and Murdoch."

"I'm not sure on this one," Vince answered honestly and looked across the table. "What do you think, Linda?"

"Fans seem to like the superheroes gimmick with those two and it's better when they chase the titles," Linda replied. "I think bringing in a valet might be a good idea. Any available Divas without storylines?"

"I think that Stacy Kiebler is available right now," Dave replied. "She might be a good fit… you know, like a…"

"Super Stacy?" Paul offered with a snort.

"You know, that's not a bad idea, Paul," Vince replied. "So it's settled then? Titles go to Cade and Murdoch, with Rosey and Hurricane regaining them after Super Stacy is brought into the picture. Next…"

"Intercontinental: Flair versus Carlito," Stephanie stated.

Vince pursed his lips for a moment and then nodded decisively, "Give it to Flair. Make Carlito submit. Pull Masters into the feud for Carlito and we'll deal with Michaels next week."

"Mhmm…" the elder sister trailed off, "And last one, Women's Title. Jessica McMahon versus Lita?"

Vince didn't even falter, "Jessica."

"Finish?"

"Any way you can allow Jessica to get the most revenge… I guess make her tap to the Blackout. It's fitting… ending Edge with it, ending the girl on the side with it," the eldest McMahon replied. "As for the future, it's been two years… I think it's time for a long title run," he added with a smile.

"Really?" Jessica's head shot up from her notes.

"Really," Vince nodded. "Now, Legal Affairs and Media Relations, Media Relations first… how is the No Mercy poster looking?

"I think it looks rather good, but I will let you be the judge of that," the younger sister replied to her father. "In everyone's manila folder, they will find a small version of the poster."

Everyone opened their pale folder and stared at the poster, a black and white side shot of Eddie Guerrero, his back clearly in view and the No Mercy logo inked on it as a tattoo on it.

"I like it," Vince nodded.

"I agree," Linda added. "Exceptional work, indeed. Is there any new business at this time regarding Legal Affairs?"

"Yes," Jessica replied with a nod, "If you turn to the next page in your folder, you will notice that there is a trademark application."

"To my knowledge, we haven't applied for any trademarks…" Linda raised an eyebrow warily.

"Exactly. We haven't…" Jessica corrected her. "There has been a trademark request by one, Jayceon Terrell Taylor, a rapper who goes by the moniker 'The Game.' As you all are aware, we currently possess the rights to 'The Game' as a Triple H brand."

"I see," Linda chewed on the end of her glasses, "We need to oppose this."

"Already taken care of. I filed a motion of opposition yesterday morning," Jessica replied. "It should be approved, at the latest, Wednesday."

"Good work," Vince acknowledged. "Web department, is in Unforgiven mode?"

"Yes," Shane responded. "Polls, commentaries, and all."

"Excellent. Road agents?" he addressed the end of the table nearest his wife. "Any talent ready for call up? New prospects?"

"Actually, Vince," Dean piped up, "We've been tossing around a name. We feel that he can help to breath new life into RAW. He's quite experienced, not much training involved."

"Really?" Vince lowered his glasses. "Who?"

"Jeff Hardy," Finlay replied. "He's clean and sober, over a year now."

"… AND," Stephanie chimed in, "He's TNA."

"Look, Vince," Paul spoke up. "Bringing the roster into perspective here, the fans love him and the boys like him a lot too. If we can get him…"

"… We'll take him," the patriarch smirked. "Someone get me the status of Hardy's contract."

Jessica smiled and looked down at her black binder. She flipped to the back page and opened the rings, pulling out the lone, plastic-sleeved paper.

She had been waiting for this moment a long time.

"It's up in three weeks," she stated, handing her father a copy of the contract, which Matt had provided her with as a condition of her pushing a deal to get him back into the WWE. "Standard sixty-day no-compete."

"Time table?"

"I'd say…" she trailed off, tapping her chin, "Three months untouchable, one month advanced training, one month advertising. Bottom line… five months. Just in time for Wrestlemania," she added with a grin.

"Beautiful!" Vince smirked. "Get to work on it," he added, rising from the table and walked out the door.

* * *

Jessica creaked open the door into the still-dark room. Being autumn now, the sun wouldn't rise for another half-hour and the dark green curtains were drawn shut, preventing light from seeping into the room.

Closing it behind her, she gazed over at the still-sleeping John. He had barely stirred when she left and it looked as though he hadn't even moved in the last hour and a half.

She changed back into her blue plaid flannel pants and black camisole, stepping into the bathroom to wash her face.

It was still dark as she closed the bathroom door, leaving a sliver of light to stretch across the hallway, as she tiptoed towards the bed and climbed in as gently as she could.

Feeling her presence again, John rolled over onto his back and turned his head towards her.

_So now he wakes up?_

A smile spread across her face as John opened his eyes.

"Hey," he whispered sleepily, "How was the meeting?"

"It went okay," she replied.

"If it was just 'okay,' then why are you smiling?"

"Oh, no reason in particular…"

"No reason at all?" John pressed her, his eyes closing shut once again.

"Nothing that can't wait until morn- John?"

She studied his face and noticed his breathing had slowed down, evidence that he had fallen back to sleep.

"Ah… oh well," she shook her head at him and slid one arm onto his chest as she snuggled into his warm body, an arm encircling her instinctively, despite his slumber. "Goodnight, John."

* * *

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"What the…" John jumped up and fell out of bed onto the floor.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"John…" Jessica whined, burying her head under the pillow. "Make it stop!"

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"Jesus Christ," he mumbled and stood up from the rough burgundy carpet.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

He whipped the door open and Amy and Trish tumbled through the door, nearly trampling John as they rushed to the bed.

"Jess!" Trish beamed as she jumped on top of her friend.

"What do you want? It's nine thirty, I got back in at six, and I was sleeping!" she whined again, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"We just heard!" Amy added brightly, jumping onto the pile, pulling the pillow off of the young blonde.

"Heard what?"

"Paul said that after your win tonight, you'll be in line for a long title run!" Trish bubbled. "It's exciting!"

_Click._

All three girls' heads turned towards the end of the bed, where John was standing, his hand still holding his camera phone.

"What?" he looked over at them and shrugged. "I got excited too!"

"Jackass," Lita mumbled and threw a pillow at him, which hit him in the stomach.

"Easy there, tiger," John hunched over reflexively and chuckled, "I come in peace."

"Keep this up…" Jessica sat upright and warned him, "And you'll be in piece-es."

"Yeah…" he trailed off, rubbing his hand over his head. "I'm gonna go now."

"In boxers?" Trish giggled as John looked down.

"Um…" he glanced around the room and spotted his suitcase beside him, from which he quickly pulled out a shirt and shorts. "No."

Hastily, he pulled on his black gym shorts and blue tee shirt before retreating from the room.

Jessica shook her head and laughed, "I think you two are more excited than I am."

"Like Trish said before, it _is_ exciting."

"You're not upset that you're dropping the title, Ames?" the Massachusetts native eyed the redhead.

"Only if I was dropping it to… Torrie!" Amy chuckled. "You know I love the girl, but you can't call what she does wrestling, Jess. You, I know. You are one of the toughest chicks around. You deserve this," she assured her.

Jessica nodded as a wry smile crossed her face, "Well then, yeah. I'm excited."

"You should be, Jess!" Trish exclaimed. "You haven't been champ since Dwayne left and quite honestly, it's about time."

"I just hope the fans think so," she bit her lip.

Trish and Amy turned their heads towards each other and laughed.

"Wow… you're an idiot," Amy mused.

"Hey!" Jessica protested.

"Come on, Jess," the Canadian shot her a look, "Last time I checked, you're the only McMahon anyone actually likes. You are the number two merchandise seller in the WWE, behind John, and maybe three when Stone Cold's around, but that's about it. Who the hell are you kidding, girl?"

"Yeah, come on, McMahon… I know you've been secretly wanting it for a long time now," Amy added.

"Think about it," Trish instructed her. "You AND John will have the belts after tonight… together."

"True," Jessica nodded. "I do like the sound of that…" she began, standing up from the bed and grabbing the clothes she had laid out on the chair the night before, "You know what? I think today's gonna be a good day."

* * *

The lights in the Ford Center completely shut off, leaving the crowd in darkness. Smoke began to fill the dimly lit ramp, leaving it in a foggy haze.

_She's a Rebel._

Green lights shot down from the ceiling over the outermost edges of the stage.

_She's a saint._

Purple lights cascaded down, inward of the green ones.

_She's the salt of the earth…_

Green again.

_And she's dangerous_.

Jessica's body became visible as the purple light coated her slender body, causing the crowd to go crazy.

_She's a Rebel._

A rocket of pyro launched from the right side of the stage to the left.

_Vigilante._

The rocket shot back to the other side of the stage.

_Missing link…_

It shot back to the other side once again and then fifteen rockets of pyro simultaneously arched over her from each side of the stage in one burst.

… _on the brink of destruction._

Jessica ran down to the ring to a loud chorus of screams and cheers. She dove into the ring and got up to stand on a turnbuckle, the green glitter initials on her black PVC pants sparkling in the camera flashes.

Jessica soaked it all in, knowing the next time she was on the turnbuckle, it would be with the Women's Title.

The Middle-Eastern guitar of Lita's theme song cut through Green Day like a knife as the cheers quickly turned to boos.

The current champ made her way up the steps and into the ring, holding up the title into the air before handing it to the referee.

For a moment, the two women circled around each other, not breaking eye contact.

One was hell-bent on revenge; the other was set on destruction.

Only one could survive.

Lita lunged at Jessica and she stepped aside, allowing Lita to fall face first to the mat. She dropped to her knees and locked her arms around the redhead's waist, pulling her to her feet. She picked her up and tossed her over her head into a German suplex, her head connected hard with the mat as she fell. Then a second time, then a third time.

Jessica stood back up and pulled Lita to her feet once again, sending her into the corner moments later. Immediately, she ran to spear her, but failed, as she moved out of the way and sent the youngest McMahon, shoulder first, into the ring post.

From there, Lita had re-gained control. She pushed her into the ropes and clotheslined her, not once, not twice, but three times.

Sprawled out on the mat, Lita landed forearms to Jessica's face. She picked her up and backed her into the ropes, stomping into her midsection repeatedly.

Lita grabbed Jessica by the hair and threw her down to the mat and she landed roughly on the canvas.

But Jessica was not about to go down without a fight. Backed into a corner, she leaned back onto the ropes and propelled her legs up and over the champion's shoulders, taking her down to the canvas with a huricarana.

Immediately, she got to her feet and bounced off of the ropes, landing a leg drop right over Lita's neck.

Lita staggered to her feet as Jessica ricocheted off of the ropes, but recovered and gave her a boot to the face. Now, she was back in control.

Jessica crawled to the ropes and hung her arms over the bottom line, gasping for air, but the redhead was unrelenting and followed her to the edge of the ring. She forced her knee into the back of the blonde's neck, choking her with the bottom rope. The ref counted to five and Lita was forced to break the hold.

She then pulled Jessica to the center of the ring and into a dragon sleeper, where the youngest McMahon began fading… fast.

Her lids began to droop heavily as her PVC-clad knees hit the canvas with a dull thud. The champion towered over her, feeling her body grow weak in her grasp as the referee came over and held up her arm.

_One_.

It dropped.

_Two._

It dropped.

_Three…_

With all of the strength left in her body, Jessica's arm shook as she kept it up in the air. She pushed upwards, taking Lita with her into the air as she stood up, but as she hooked her ankle around her opponent, she countered into a side-Russian leg sweep of her very own.

Lita covered Jessica, pushing down on her wrists.

_One… two…kickout._

She kicked Jessica's bare ribs repeatedly, causing the challenger to curl her body in pain, each shot increasing the pressure on her ribcage. Lita dove over her, her shins pinning her legs towards her as she forced her body weight on top of Jessica.

_One… two… kickout._

This time, it was too close.

The redhead returned to her feet and smirked over her opponent, grabbing her by the back of her black pants and hooking her over her head. The woman landed flat on her back, immediately writhing in pain upon impact.

Lita climbed the top rope and tried to land a frog splash on top of Jessica, but she moved and the champ landed flat on her stomach, knocking he wind out of her.

Both women laid on the mat, trying to catch their breath, as the count out began.

_One… two… three…four… five…_

Lita got to her feet first, quickly followed by Jessica, and the two women traded punches.

Lita landed a left.

Jessica landed a right.

Jessica landed a left.

Lita landed a right.

Jessica finally kneed her rival in the ribs, landing a few hard kicks to her ribs in the meantime. She threw Lita into the ropes and went for the crossbody, only to have her step aside and pick her up from the mat.

Lita pulled her by the hair into the center of the ring, swung her leg back, and landed an impaler DDT, sending the young blonde into the canvas with a sickening thud.

She clawed her way to her knees, gazing out into the faces of the crowd as she pushed her blonde locks from her face.

This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting over two years for.

* * *

Amy pushed her over onto her back and attempted a pin, both women listening for the two thuds. Jessica thrust her arm into the air, breaking the count.

"You ready, Champ?" Amy whispered as she lingered over her friend's body in the ring.

"Yeah," Jessica whispered back through gritted teeth as the redhead pulled her to her feet.

She pushed away the woman's hands and hit her with a forearm to the face. Then another. Then another.

Jessica shoved Amy into the ropes, clotheslining her onto the canvas.

Her hazel eyes scanned the crowd.

All those years ago, Dwayne had been right. These were her people. They loved her… and more importantly, she loved each and every single one of them.

* * *

The youngest McMahon waited for Lita to get to her feet and once she was upright, locked in a full nelson and slammed her down to the mat.

"I don't believe it, King!" JR boomed into his headset. "She hasn't used that move since the days of the Corporation.

"It looks like she really wants it this time, JR!" his partner replied, awestruck as she climbed to the top rope, her opponent still laying on her back in the ring.

"What is she thinking?" the Oklahoman asked, his attention still glued to Jessica. "Is she… is she?"

"I think so, JR."

Jessica stood atop the top turnbuckle, her back facing Lita. Suddenly, she leapt off of the rope, like a springboard, and soared through the air before connecting with the body below.

"Shooting star press! Shooting star press!" Lawler yelled.

"Wait," JR halted him as she got to her feet yet again. "She's going for something else."

* * *

Jessica turned Amy over onto her stomach and stepped between her legs, placing them over her shoulders, before grabbing onto her wrists and lifting her into the air.

She pulled her upwards with every ounce of strength she had left into the body.

For a moment, she just stood there, holding the redhead in the air.

The last time she had used this move, she had done it to win the title in memory of her grandmother, Diana. This time, she would use it to earn the title, so that she could stand beside the man she loved as champion.

She glanced quickly at the sky, her hazel orbs glistening in the bright lights, knowing that her grandmother was in Heaven and looking down on her, smiling at where she had ended up.

Jessica was now dating her best friend, a man who loved and respected her more than anyone else in the world. She had a new job title, officially joining her father, mother, sister, and brother in the ranks of the family business, and in a few moments, she'd have the title it had taken her over two years to regain.

Everything was absolutely perfect.

Jessica took a deep breath and her feet left the ground as she swung Amy upwards and came down again as the redhead dropped down to the mat with a resonating thud.

As soon as she came down, landing on her feet, she knew it. The moment her boot connected with the canvas, it was over.

She quickly dropped to her knees and hovered over Amy.

"You need to reverse this somehow," she hissed through her teeth as she stepped in between her legs once again with her left leg, forming a triangle with Amy's knees, as she locked in the Blackout.

"Ahh…" she grunted as Jessica's weight shifted more on top of her, relying on her body for support. "You're insane."

"No, Amy… you have to…" Jessica begged her, the strength quickly leaving her legs. "Trust me, you have to!"

Amy shook her head furiously.

"Amy!" Jessica seethed, overcome by pain. "As my best friend… please! End this now."

Her eyes dropped to the mat and she began to crawl, taking Jessica along for the ride. She scratched and clawed her way to the bottom rope, finally forcing Jessica to drop her hold.

Amy let out a deep sigh and nodded. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

"She broke the Blackout!" JR exclaimed. "Lita has broken the Blackout!"

The redhead whipped around towards her opponent and dove on top of her, cradling her against the grey surface below, her shoulders pinned to the mat.

_One…two…three._

"Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner," Lillian began to boom into the microphone, "And still Women's Champion, Lita!"

The boos resonated throughout the arena as the ref handed her back the championship belt.

Immediately, she dropped it to the mat and charged at Jessica, who was still lying on her back, noticeably in pain.

She began stomping on Jessica's knee, fixed on ending her career.

"This will teach you to mess with me!" she screamed shrilly, unrelenting in her attack.

"That Jezebel! That witch!" Jim Ross yelled over his headset.

"She could end her career!" the King added.

The boos quickly turned to screams as John Cena charged down the ramp.

"Oh my God! It's Cena! It's Cena! Business is about to pick up, folks!"

Seeing the WWE Champion heading for the ring, Lita quickly slid out of the ring and waited until he was standing over Jessica to back up the ramp.

* * *

"Jessica," John called to her, kneeling down beside her.

"John," she replied meekly, tears scraping down her face.

"Baby, I'm here," he assured her, pushing her hair out of her face. "What is it? What happened?"

Her hands slid down to her right knee, holding it between her palms as she rocked back and forth, intent on easing the pain.

"It's your knee, isn't it?" he asked her placing a hand gingerly on her kneecap, his eyes watching her face cringed from the pain of his light touch.

"It's over, John," Jessica shut her eyes tightly as she heard footsteps from across the ring, her ear pressed to the canvas, signaling the medics' arrival. "It's all over."

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it folks… the end of She's a Rebel.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been an absolute pleasure entertaining you every week since June 9, 2007.**

**I hope that the last part of this chapter kind of threw you for a loop, but… it is setting up She's a Rebel II. It's going to be a little darker than its predecessor, but in the end, I think you'll value just how dark it starts off and where it ends. Then again, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.**

**Back to the sequel… I can now officially reveal its title.**

**DRUM ROLL PLEASE………..**

……

……

……

……

**Ta-da!**

**Unravel.**

**Here's my question though, when I post the title, how should I post it?**

**She's a Rebel II: Unravel, Unravel (She's a Rebel II), or Unravel… and in the summary write (sequel to She's a Rebel)?**

**I don't know, you decide.**

**Plus, I hope you all review this chapter, as it is the last one for a little while. **

**I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed the chapter, followed by the story overall, and then give me some advice on the title.**

**And here's the list of shout outs for the very last time!**

**To my most loyal reviewers: dj-ssdd, ginny-potter-07, Chain Gang Princess, MissPhilippinesSuperStar, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker, nic-002001, PlasticCandy, and Adrian Jade…**

**You guys are absolutely incredible. Thank you for sticking with me the whole way through… I couldn't have kept inspired without you nine!**

**To my other lovely reviewers: faxness-rulz, xXBXx, cassymae, lil-miss-wrestling-fan, OCHockeyBrat, New York Chica, Sammy91, Zadok, Chenai, The billion dollar bitch, Angelus242, always-alone-but-never-alone, x. Shadowz Arrow .x, xXMckenzieXx, Kimberlin, itsalexaaa, beanybaby, SouthernBaby92, Intergalactic smart-ass, and TaylorChesney…**

**Whether you reviewed only one chapter or a couple more than that, I still appreciate you taking the time out of your day to let me know how I was doing, even if it was a novel or a quick "Post More Soon," it still made a difference. I thank you for sharing this experience with me, as well.**

**But the shout outs are not done.**

**To Lauren (writethisdown4you), my best friend in the neighborhood, who stayed up with me at four in the morning while I wrote this story, I thank you. Whether I got one review or sixteen, you still took the time to let me know how I was doing. Even though you're just around the corner from my house, we'd be on the phone as I was typing it and you'd laugh at some of the jokes I'd insert for minutes on end. Hopefully, Unravel will bring the same fun to our lives.**

**And last, but certainly not least, to my very own partner in crime, Julia (goddessofthenite), everyone here should thank you. If it wasn't for you stealing my notebook as I wrote this story and constantly badgering me to finish, She's a Rebel might never have ended. Even in Europe, on my two week posting-hiatus, you filled the role of my editor and music provider when my Ipod died on those six hour bus rides through the French Countryside and Greek Mountains. Although, I did have to hide my notebook from you at certain points, no one kept me going more than you did. Even though you're now off in West Chester, PA, playing college student, you're motivating from afar. Actually, scratch that… you're **_**harassing**_** me from afar. Either way, thank you… for everything.**

**For the last time, as a part of She's a Rebel, I ask of you…**

**Please review.**

**Danielle **


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